Singh-Smith Escape Systems have been specialists in submarine escape capsules since the 2020s, when they first started installing replacement capsules in the Indian Navy's submarines. Since then, the business has grown to the point where Singh-Smith is nearly ubiquitous in this field, with most submarine escape systems on Earth being either Singh-Smith-built or built from Singh-Smith designs under licence. The company is at present attempting to branch into space escape systems, but so far has met with limited success.
SSES's model number system is simple to follow: the first two letters denote that this unit is designed for submarine escape; the first number, the number of occupants; and the second number is the crush pressure in standard atmospheres.
The Su4/705 is designed for 4 humanoid occupants, though double that number can be squeezed in if necessary. An NAI is installed to control the capsule's systems and provide survival aid. AI crew can be recorded to 10 teradisks. The Su4/705's crush pressure of 705 atmospheres is equivalent to a depth of 4.4 miles in Earth's oceans, giving it a comfortable safety margin on the abyssal plains.
Construction is basically a thick-walled titanium sphere embedded in a block of syntactic foam for flotation, moulded to conform to the outside surface of the submarine or habitat. On military submarines, the outer surface of the flotation block will be covered with a sound-baffling layer; this may be shed on deployment. Entrance to the capsule is through the bottom hatch, which can be shut manually or by the capsule's NAI. Once released, the capsule floats to the surface at a speed of 4.4 yards/sec, taking 30 minutes from its crush depth. At the surface, a ventilation tube, antennae, strobe lights and guard rails are deployed from the upper surface. If weather conditions are appropriate, the upper hatch can be opened so that the upper surface of the floation block can be accessed for exercise or rescue.
A full set of survival gear is fitted inside the pod, including emergency rations, cold-weather clothing, and line-throwing gear.
