11. US Navy personnel were covertly part of Ballard’s expedition
To map and study the sites of the two lost submarines, and Titanic, active duty US Navy personnel were assigned to the crew and to Ballard’s research team. The fact that these new and presumably unknown members of the team were active duty Navy was kept from the remaining members of Ballard’s team, though he was aware of it himself. Officially the time spent over the wrecks of the submarines was for training these new team members, in preparation for the time spent looking for the Titanic. The secrecy continued after the work was complete, and Ballard’s time spent on the operation was in his official capacity as an officer in the United States Navy.
The success of the operation at both the submarine sites and the Titanic site led the US Navy to use Argo/Jason and subsequently developed advanced technology for other missions, many of which remain classified. How much money the Navy spent in assisting to develop the technology and techniques used to find the Titanic is unknown outside of the Navy and its contractors. The Navy had been impressed that Argo/Jason worked so well at the 9,800-foot depth at which Scorpion lies. The Titanic’s wreckage is at a depth exceeding 12,000 feet.
