US Navy orders submarine escape immersion suits worth $49mn

Washington, Dec 27 (IANS) The US Navy has ordered new submarine escape immersion suits worth some $49 million from the Ohio plant of a British company, the Department of Defense said."RFD Beaufort Inc., Sharon Center, Ohio, was awarded a maximum 49,046,703-dollar firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for submarine escape immersion suits," Xinhua news agency quoted the Department as saying on Thursday.The contract is a three-year base one with two one-year option periods, it added.Submarine escape immersion suits designed by British manufacturer RFD Beaufort Ltd are whole-body suits that allow submariners to escape from a stricken submarine and provide extensive protection for the submariners on reaching the surface until rescued.Following a nearly 30-year hiatus, the US Navy re-instituted pressurized submarine escape training for submarine crew members in 2009.
--IANS ksk/