DSEI Japan 2025: German maritime SOF to receive diver propulsion devices

The Maraneo M2 Advanced DPD was displayed at DSEI Japan 2025 in Chiba. (Andrew White)

German maritime special operations forces (SOF) are set to receive a single delivery of diver propulsion devices (DPDs) to support the clandestine insertion and extraction of combat divers, an industry official has confirmed.

Speaking to Janes at the DSEI Japan 2025 show in Chiba on 22 May, Andreas Stevens, the CEO at German company Maraneo, confirmed the German Navy's Special Operations Command (KSM) will receive a total of 60 units next week.

DPDs will be used by KSM Kampfschwimmer operators, based at the Eckernförde Naval Academy on Germany's Baltic coast. The unit is tasked to “conduct special operations missions in the maritime environment in support of German armed forces operations, including support operations”, according to government literature.

Stevens said the Maraneo M2 Advanced DPD will provide combat divers with “fatigue-free propulsion with a possible thrust of more than 42 kg achieved by thigh-mounted thrusters that keep the diver's hands-free for other operations”.

The M2 Advanced DPD features a pair of thrusters, control and hand units, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, buoyancy compensators, and a shoulder harness system. Equipped with rebreathing equipment, an operator can achieve speeds between 6 and 9km/h.

“The unit is intuitively controlled via body movements and is learnt within a few minutes,” Stevens said, before highlighting the unit's fearless direct drive, hydrodynamically optimised thrust nozzle, ergonomically shaped leg plate, and double joints for “full mobility”.

Maraneo first designed a recreational prototype of the M2 DPD in 2018 as an internal research and development effort. It was then tested by KSM, although funding for any procurement had yet to be allocated.