The Navy’s Fleet Integrated Sustainment Team (FIST) met in Mayport, Florida, March 3 and 4 to discuss ways to improve communication, cooperation and collaboration between the Regional Maintenance Centers (RMC) and warfare centers.
The presentations included topics such as remote monitoring of shipboard systems, life cycle support contracts, modernization in shipbuilding and cyber warfare, among other current technical issues.
Dr. William Luebke, Director of the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) in Port Hueneme, California, chaired the two-day event. In his opening remarks, he urged those in the room, and those participating via conference call and Defense Connect Online, to be candid to encourage better dialogue. The participants were largely representatives of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and surface force stakeholders, some had come from as far as Japan, and as near as the hosting Southeast Regional Maintenance Center (SERMC).
“In order to move forward in continuous improvement of supporting the fleet, we need more communication, transparency and accountability,” Luebke said.
One of the more poignant topics that answered Luebke’s three-part theme was cyber warfare, presented by Chris Nerney from NSWC Dahlgren. He described the threat of cyber attack on the Navy — indeed on the federal government — as constant and prolific. Nerney said anything a computer is connected to is vulnerable to attack.
“We have to reduce the attack surface,” Nerney said. “We’re looking at creating a ‘system of systems’ that will reduce the attack vectors, or avenues of approach.”
The system of systems approach that Nerney mentioned would be a single integrated system under one virtual umbrella instead of separate systems that may, or may not, be independent of each other. For example, weapons, communications, and engineering systems would be placed under a single system to reduce the number of attack points; instead of three separate vulnerabilities, there would be only one to protect.
“Many cyber-attacks lead to more than computer failure or loss of information,” Nerney said, while showing images of wreckage on a projector screen. “Some of these cyber infiltrations can allow our adversaries to overload generators to the point they literally explode and hurt people.”
Another topic was the ability to remotely monitor shipboard systems to track performance and maintenance requirements with the intention of predicting and correcting systematic problems before they occur.
Ron Brown of NSWC Philadelphia discussed the advantages of the maintenance centers and NAVSEA engineers to monitor everything from electrical and mechanical engineering systems to computers and navigation systems.
“We can compile data on a specific ship, or class of ship, and provide feedback to the CO (commanding officer) to take action before it becomes a problem,” Brown said.
Nadia Tepper of SERMC presented the maintenance approach to the pending homeport shift of littoral combat ships (LCS) to Mayport. Because the LCS class of ships have the capability to be remotely monitored, this platform presents some maintenance advantages, but also some challenges.
“We are working to drive down maintenance costs,” Tepper said. “The scheduled maintenance for the LCS both in CONUS and OCONUS is incredibly busy, and because the size of the LCS crew is so small, the RMCs may perform O-level and I-level maintenance for them.”
The O-level, or organizational level, maintenance is classified as basic preventive maintenance normally performed by a ship’s force. The I-level, or intermediate level, is more technical and complex, and generally beyond the capability of a ship’s force to accomplish. These I-level tasks are performed by organizations like SERMC and other regional maintenance centers across the Navy.
One of the challenges of the LCS platform is its complex, high-tech nature. Many of the systems on the LCS are cutting-edge technology, and the RMCs have never seen them before. The training and familiarization of these systems are ongoing throughout the Navy.
Luebke assured the attending commodore of Mayport’s LCS Squadron TWO that he has the complete support of the RMCs and NAVSEA to ensure the success of the LCS program.
The Lash-Up seminar attendees tackled these and several other subjects with round-table conversations that would help to either initiate solutions to some challenges or to simply provide updates on current projects. The event ended with a tour of the SERMC production facilities.