Editing SEAL Delivery Vehicle (section)

==Operational history==
The SDV is used primarily for inserting SEALs for covert operations or for placing mines on ships. It is also used for underwater mapping and terrain exploration, location and recovery of lost or downed objects, and reconnaissance missions.<ref name=CGSC>{{cite book |title=SOF Reference Manual |date=1999 |publisher=[[Army Command and General Staff College]] |location=[[Fort Leavenworth, Kansas]] |url=https://fas.org/irp/agency/dod/socom/sof-ref-2-1/index.html |chapter=US Naval Special Operations Forces}}</ref> It has been invaluable at deploying SEAL teams in clandestine missions, as it has enabled them to land on shores inaccessible to a larger submarine with a degree of stealth greater than that offered by small surface craft, helicopters, or other means.<ref name=Thompson>{{cite magazine |last1=Thompson |first1=Kalee |last2=Weinberger |first2=Sharon |last3=Pappalardo |first3=Joe |title=Secrets of the Navy SEALs |url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a6849/secrets-of-the-navy-seals/ |access-date=19 September 2018 |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=1 August 2011}}</ref> In exercises, the SDV has been found to excel at anti-shipping attacks, being able to attack targets in heavily-guarded fleets or docked at military bases and then slip away undetected.<ref>{{Cite book| edition = First | publisher = Phoca Press, LLC| isbn = 9780990915300| last = Hawkins| first = Tom| others = Lisa Merriam (ed.)| title = America's Hidden Heroes: The History and Evolution of U.S. Navy Frogmen and SEALs| location = New York, NY| date = 2015-02-06}}</ref> Additionally, it can carry larger [[limpet mine]]s than those carried by a diver and has a much greater range than a diver, enabling attacks on larger and more distant enemy ships.<ref name=Kelly /> However, the SDV is not without its weaknesses, namely its range, reliability, and mobility. The SDV's short range, which is contingent on [[sea state]], water temperature, payload, and other factors, sometimes hinders operations. In one example, the Navy wanted to use an SDV to get a closer look at a Soviet ship anchored in a [[Cuba]]n harbor {{convert|18|mile|km}} upriver from the [[Caribbean Sea]]. The SDV could not have made the round trip to the Soviet vessel from an American ship outside of Cuba's territorial waters, so the mission had to be called off.<ref name=Kelly />

Mark 8 SDVs saw combat during the [[Gulf War|First Gulf War]], where they performed mine reconnaissance and demolition missions.<ref name=Museum /><ref name=George /> In the [[Iraq War]], Mark 8 SDVs were used to secure offshore oil and gas terminals.<ref name=George /> Several days before the beginning of the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], two SDV teams were launched from [[Mark V Special Operations Craft]] in the Persian Gulf. Their objectives were the [[Hydrographic survey|hydrographic reconnaissance]] of the [[KAAOT|Al Basrah (MABOT) and Khawr Al Amaya (KAAOT) Oil Terminals]]. After swimming under the terminals and securing their Mark 8 Mod 1s, the SDV SEALs spent several hours taking pictures and surveying Iraqi activity on both platforms before returning to their boats.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Mammoth Book of Inside the Elite Forces |first=Nigel |last=Cawthorne |author-link=Nigel Cawthorne |year=2008 |location=London, UK |publisher=Robinson |isbn=978-1-84529-821-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_l5i5 }}</ref> On March 20, 2003, SEALs from [[SEAL Team 8]] and [[SEAL Team 10|10]] (31 SEALs, 2 [[United States Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal|Navy EOD]], 1 USAF combat controller, and several Iraqi interpreters) moved to seize the MABOT oil terminal and KAAOT Oil Terminals, in part using SDVs. The terminals were quickly seized with no casualties, and explosives which were found on the terminals were made safe by Polish [[GROM]] operators.<ref>{{cite book |title=Special Forces in the War on Terror |first=Leigh |last=Neville |year=2015 |location=[[Oxford]], UK |publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-47280-790-8 |page=123}}</ref>

In 2003, SEALs using SEAL Delivery Vehicles swam ashore along the [[Somalia|Somali]] coastline and emplaced covert surveillance cameras. Known as cardinals, the cameras were designed to watch likely target locations for wanted terrorists as [[al-Qaeda]] and its affiliates began to regroup in the country, however the cameras only took one image a day and captured very little.{{sfnp|Neville|2015|pp=282-284}}

In American service, the SDV is deployed with [[SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1]] (SDVT-1), based in [[Pearl Harbor]], and [[SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2]] (SDVT-2), based in [[Little Creek, Virginia]]. SDVT-1 operates on behalf of [[CENTCOM|Central Command]] and [[USPACOM|Pacific Command]] in the Middle East and Indian and Pacific Oceans. SDVT-2 operates in the Atlantic and [[European Command]] and [[SOUTHCOM|Southern Command]], and is primarily focused on supporting the activities of the [[Sixth Fleet]].<ref name=CGSC />

The SDV suffered from reliability concerns early in its lifespan. [[Lieutenant commander|LCDR]] Doug Lowe, a member of [[SDV Team 1]] in the 1980s, reported that his team's SDVs were operational less than 50 percent of the time.<ref name=Kelly /> However, reliability improved with usage: LCDR Lowe later commanded [[SDV Team 2]] in the 1990s and reported that his subs were ready more than 90 percent of the time.<ref name=Kelly />

The main failure of the SDV is its poor mobility.<ref name=Kelly /> The SDV can only be effectively deployed from specially modified submarines and surface ships. Although it can be transported by [[C-130]] airplanes, the relative scarcity of vessels capable of deploying an SDV limits its usage.<ref name=GS /> Submarines are the preferred means of deployment, as enemies can see a surface ship deploying an SDV with a crane, further limiting the SDV's mobility and usage. Modifying a surface ship to launch and recover the SDV through an underwater door, like the Italian Navy had done for its [[human torpedo]]es in WWII, would have helped alleviate this problem.<ref name=Kelly />

The [[Special Boat Service]] of the [[United Kingdom Special Forces]] operates three Mark 8 Mod 1 vehicles.<ref name="UK">{{Cite journal |last=Dorschner |first=Jim |date=27 May 2009 |title=Special Delivery |journal=Jane's Defence Weekly |volume=46 |issue=21 |page=28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=J. Valaik |first1=Daniel |last2=E. Hyde |first2=Dale |last3=F. Schrot |first3=John |last4=R. Thomas |first4=John |date=November 1997 |title=Thermal Protection and Diver Performance in Special Operations Forces Combat Swimmers (Resting Diver Phase) |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA384687.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220721185546/https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA384687.pdf |archive-date=2022-07-21 |website=Defense Technical Information Center |publisher=Naval Medical Research Institute |pages=100}}</ref>