U.S. Nuclear Submarines Use Controllers Similar to Missing Titanic Sub

Much has been made of the seemingly mundane controller used aboard the missing submersible that vanished while investigating the wreckage of the Titanic, though major vessels operated by the U.S. Navy have used similar technology aboard their nuclear submarines for years.

The submersible Titan, owned by private company OceanGate Expeditions, has been searched for by crews and the U.S. Coast Guard since Sunday when five individuals on board lost contact with the control center and are in a race for time as breathable air continually decreases. The vessel departed Sunday morning towards the wreckage, estimated to be about 13,000 feet below sea level and approximately 900 miles east of where it departed from Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Aboard the sub were five people who each reportedly paid $250,000 to be part of the expedition: OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, French submersible pilot Paul-Henry Nargeolet, billionaire British explorer Hamish Harding and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood.

"For some time, we have been unable to establish communications with one of our submersible exploration vehicles which is currently visiting the wreck site of the Titanic," OceanGate Expeditions spokespeople Jim Wilkinson and Andrew Von Kerens told Newsweek in a statement. "Our entire focus is on the wellbeing of the crew and every step possible is being taken to bring the five crew members back safely.

"We are deeply grateful for the urgent and extensive assistance we are receiving from multiple government agencies and deep-sea companies as we seek to reestablish contact with the submersible. We pray for the safe return of the crew and passengers, and we will provide updates as they are available," the statement added.

'Elements of MacGyver jerry-riggedness'

CBS News correspondent David Pogue was invited by Rush last year to see and experience the submersible for himself, departing from St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada, the easternmost tip of North America and about 400 miles from the Titanic site.

While being given a tour of the sub, Pogue said he "couldn't help notice how many pieces of this sub seem improvised," specifically identifying how the vessel was piloted using a video game controller.

"It seems like this submersible has some elements of MacGyver jerry-riggedness," remarked Pogue, who also said during the same tour that the vessel's physical composition includes no backup or escape pod.

The controller has been identified by multiple media outlets as a Logitech F710 gamepad, a Bluetooth-operated controller including a four-switch D-pad for different control mechanisms.

The missing vessel also typically uses Elon Musk's Starlink to communicate with a communications and tracking team on its mothership, MV Polar Prince, via short text messages, according to the Daily Mail.

Cheaper tech understood by younger sailors

The U.S. Navy has used Xbox controllers on some of their subs dating back to 2018.

Commander Reed Koepp, formerly the commanding officer of the USS Colorado, told USA Today then that it was the first attack submarine where sailors use an Xbox 360 controller to maneuver photonics masts that replaced periscopes.

Other submarines, at least in that time period, normally used joysticks. Koepp, who according to his biography is now the commander of the Nuclear Power Training Unit in Charleston, South Carolina, said the video game controllers were utilized to both save money and because younger sailors were more adept at using such controllers due to understanding how to use them based on personal gaming experiences.

Engadget previously reported that the control panel, developed by Lockheed Martin, cost about $38,000. They worked with naval officials to reportedly adapt the video game controllers, which currently can cost cheaper than $30 depending on where they are purchased, for sub-use.

The Xbox controller was later adapted for Virginia-class submarines, reported The Washington Post.

"That joystick is by no means cheap, and it is only designed to fit on a Virginia-class submarine," Senior Chief Mark Eichenlaub, John Warner's assistant navigator, previously told the Virginian-Pilot newspaper. "I can go to any video game store and procure an Xbox controller anywhere in the world, so it makes a very easy replacement."

A YouTube video posted in 2022, featuring a tour of the USS Indiana, included a discussion about the Xbox 360 controllers and why they are now utilized by sailors.

Commander Scott Bresnahan provided Florida National News with the tour, going through the ins and outs of the nuclear sub. One portion of the tour included Bresnahan discussing the use of the Xbox 360 controller.

"The older Virginia classes, which are not that old, used to have a joystick to be able to control the periscope," Bresnahan told videographer Joel Franco, who uploaded the video. "They did a number of different studies with the newer generation of sailors that were coming in, saying, 'Hey, how can we make this more intuitive, how can we make it easier for them to get more proficient faster?'

"They figured out the use of an Xbox controller."

It controls changing the camera from black-and-white to color, he explained, as well as using infrared capabilities and other filters.

"You'd be surprised at the number of times sailors will come in—new junior officers having never operated the periscope—and just the intuitive nature of how this operates, whether you're zooming in, changing colors or cameras, whatever the case."

He said it is better than using the previous joystick, also acknowledging the cost associated with that technology.

"These are like 60 bucks," he added. "The surprising thing about these is, they have cords. They don't really make these very much anymore because they're all Bluetooth."

Newsweek reached out via email to the U.S. Navy for comment.