Cinematic set up for a mission that went murderously awry:
The plan called for the Navy to sneak a nuclear-powered submarine, nearly two football fields long, into the waters off North Korea and then deploy a small team of SEALs in two mini-subs, each about the size of a killer whale, that would motor silently to the shore.
The mini-subs were wet subs, which meant the SEALs would ride immersed in 40-degree ocean water for about two hours to reach the shore, using scuba gear and heated suits to survive.
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the SEALs — all gripping untraceable weapons loaded with untraceable ammunition — swam silently underwater to shore with the listening device
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Back at the mini-subs, the pilots repositioned the sub that was facing the wrong way. With the sliding cockpit doors open for visibility and communication, a pilot revved the electric motor and brought the sub around.
That was probably a third mistake. Some SEALs speculated afterward in briefings that the motor’s wake might have caught the attention of the North Korean boat. And if the boat crew heard a splash and turned to look, they might have seen light from the subs’ open cockpits glowing in the dark water.
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Many of the people involved in the mission were later promoted.
(Lots more details, and the article describes other missions)
This article is doing for my impression of how elite Seal Team 6 is what the missing Malaysian flight did for my perceptions of how elite the US global monitoring system is. You're telling me you don't know where every commercial plane is at all times? I assumed that stuff was easy for you.
— Morgan Clendaniel (@mclendaniel.bsky.social) September 5, 2025 at 7:41 AM
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