JFD ORTEGA Tactical Three Seater Submersible

FD, the world-leading underwater capability provider serving the commercial and defense diving markets, and part of James Fisher and Sons plc, has today announced its acquisition of all the assets, IP, and designs rights of Ortega Submersibles BV, the Netherlands-based submersible boat designer and manufacturer.

The acquisition will enable JFD to expand further its offering of advanced Swimmer Delivery Vehicles (SDVs) and to develop new vehicles and capabilities in order to meet increased market demand for the specialized small and medium-sized craft.

JFD will also add to its existing SDV manufacturing capability based in Vaxholm, Sweden, and expand its offering to include new vehicle designs that will allow Special Forces operators to safely conduct covertly challenging missions.



Giovanni Corbetta, managing director, JFD, said:
“Deploying Special Forces operators into their field of operations always has its challenges, but when it comes to covert operations in the open sea, safe insertion and extraction to and from the field take on an even greater level of complexity and importance. Divers can become easily fatigued and exhausted if exposed for long periods in the open water, particularly where there is a need for submarines and surface vessels to be kept as far away from the area of operations as possible in order to avoid detection. This often requires divers to swim great distances unless there is an SDV capability in place suitable for their mission requirements.



JFD’s advanced range of SDVs is specifically designed to facilitate the safe insertion and extraction of Special Forces and their equipment from different types of vessels, providing navies with the capability to deliver the payload (operators) safely to their intended point of insertion at a high level of readiness. In all JFD SDVs, operators are shielded from the water stream, enabling them to retain warmth and reduce the cold water temperature exchange rate. This minimizes the physical impact of the insertion or extraction operation and ensures divers are able to keep fatigued to an absolute minimum.

JFD provides advanced SDVs to a number of notable navies. As an established capability provider, and operating worldwide, JFD has in its portfolio a comprehensive range of products, services, and aftercare solutions for the defense industry, including Special Forces, law enforcement, counter-terrorism, maritime protection, and mine countermeasures.