SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- The Navy's premier small business event, focusing on how such companies can inject agility and innovation into fleet capabilities, will take place at the San Diego Convention Center Aug. 24-25.
The Navy Gold Coast Small Business Procurement Event is cosponsored by the San Diego Chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association and will feature Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) leadership in attendance.
According to SPAWAR Commander Rear Adm. Dave Lewis, cybersecurity cooperation from the local to the federal level is becoming increasingly vital to national defense.
"Close partnerships with cybersecurity businesses, like those thriving here in San Diego, is vital to staying ahead of our adversaries and the daily onslaught of cyberattacks," Lewis said.
While cybersecurity has been firmly engrained in Navy operations over the past several years, the Navy is increasingly seeking innovative ideas from Navy personnel and from industry partners.
The Navy's Task Force Innovation, for example, was established by the Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus in January 2015.
"From non-state actors, to rising powers, today's threats to our national security and our interests are not just becoming more numerous, they are also accelerating," Mabus noted at the time. "Establishing Task Force Innovation will help us develop the best ways to improve our systems and ensure that we are also able to embrace our innovative ideas at a pace that keeps us ahead."
During the Gold Coast event, SPAWAR Executive Director Pat Sullivan will be moderating a government and industry panel on the importance of cybersecurity and small businesses that contribute to Navy programs and initiatives.
Additionally, SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific Executive Director Carmela Keeney will be moderating a government panel discussing additive manufacturing, more generally known as 3-D printing, rapid prototyping, and experimentation and adaptive force packaging.
Representatives from the Navy's Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence will also be on hand for "matchmaking sessions," which allow members of small businesses at Gold Coast to meet key decision-makers from large businesses and government.
Learn more about Navy Gold Coast at http://navygoldcoast.org/.
SPAWAR is the Navy acquisition command that develops, delivers and sustains advanced information warfare capabilities for our warfighters. SPAWAR, along with its system centers, space field activity and its partnership with three program executive offices, provides the hardware and software needed to execute Navy missions. With more than 10,000 active duty military and civilian professionals located around the world and close to the fleet, SPAWAR is at the forefront of research, engineering and acquisition, keeping our forces connected around the globe.
For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil/, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy/, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy/.
For more news from Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/spawar/.