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ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – December 12, 2008 – The Office of Naval Research (ONR) strengthened its message of international collaboration and partnership at the 6th International Maritime and Naval Exhibition and Conference for Latin America, ExpoNaval, December 2-5 in Valparaiso, Chile.

ONR-Global, the international arm of ONR, hosted the first-ever Global Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) Conference followed by the 2nd Western Hemisphere Maritime Domain Awareness workshop. Through ONR-Global's international science and technology (S&T) efforts, ONR facilitates partnering with our allies through technology research that enhances MDA operations in the region.

Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) ADM Gary Roughead and the new Chief of Naval Research, RADM Nevin Carr, were among ONR’s leaders in attendance. The CNO spoke about the importance of building and maintaining global maritime partnerships – a key tenant of his Maritime Strategy.

"This is a perfect example of the importance of how navies and maritime forces can come together and discuss the issues we see in the future and how we can work more closely together,” ADM Roughead said.

ExpoNaval included naval leaders from 28 countries throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America and provided a platform for meeting and exchanging ideas and experiences among the participants.

“ONR’s innovation brings technology solutions to U.S. forces and our allies,” noted RADM Carr. “The efforts of ONR-Global to facilitate collaboration abroad in scientific research helps to bring new ideas and partnerships to bear not only for work at ONR, but also in support of CNO’s Maritime Strategy.”

At the MDA workshop hosted by ONR-Global, recommendations included the adoption of future MDA capabilities such as relatively low-cost multi-level security systems, open system architectures to link networks such as the Maritime Security and Safety Information System (MSSIS), employment of analytical tools for analyzing MDA data, and the use of space-based sensors among others.

Additionally, opportunities for collaboration were identified to include supporting the U.S. Southern Command’s Virtual Regional Maritime Traffic Center – Americas’ (VRMTC-A) initiative. Attendees representing Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Canada and Panama offered to pursue further collaboration in the area of the VRMTC-A experiment in 2009.

For more information:

• Review CNO ADM Roughead’s Maritime Strategy
• Explore ONR-Global’s top initiatives
• Get more details on ExpoNaval