When asked when will we achieve Network-Centric Warfare, I reply, "We are moving toward network-centric warfare a bit each day. One example is a current SPAWAR initiative with the U.S. Marine Corps. Marines are testing a PDA–like device hooked to a wireless network for situational awareness in the battlefield. Using this device Marines know where members of their platoon are right up to the division level, and thirty miles away -- the USS Coronado knew the location of each platoon member. This was the first time the flagship knew the precise location of the platoon right down to the individual. You can imagine what this type of situation awareness means to the individual warfighter on the battlefield.
Introduction
SPAWAR brings the building blocks to network-centric warfare. SPAWAR is one of the Navy's three major acquisition commands with 7,600 military and civilian employees. We are engaged in: Navy, Joint and Coalition interoperability, and readiness, which entails–C4I, IT-21, NMCI, and the Web-enabled Navy integration of legacy applications. These are the foundations for the integration of Network Centric Warfare capabilities.
SPAWAR is an Echelon II command and we report to the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) for Operations, Administration and Requirements and for Acquisition to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy Research, Development and Acquisition (ASN(RDA)). We are really in the business of knowledge superiority--turning information into knowledge. We do that in some traditional ways by acquiring future technology capabilities through program offices, by research and development, and life cycle management for fleet systems, which includes training and maintaining.
Figure 1 is shown as a geographic reference point. Until about five years ago, SPAWAR was located in Washington, D.C. We were part of the last BRAC that mandated that the System commands move out of leased spaces and collocate with their field activities. NAVAIR went to NAS Patuxent River, Md., we went to San Diego-- that's where our big laboratory is, and NAVSEA went to the Washington Navy Yard. SSC Charleston on the East Coast is our biggest physical presence on the East Coast. We have a detachment in Norfolk and a presence in Washington D.C. Rear Adm. Rand Fisher is dual-hatted as SPAWAR Director, Naval Space Technology Programs (PD-14) and as the Navy's representative to the Navy Research Laboratory.
Our newest part of the organization is the Information Technology Center (ITC) New Orleans. Originally, a component of the Reserve Command; they develop personnel programs-for the Bureau of Naval Personnel. From a corporate point of view, we've added new expertise to our portfolio. We not only have the ability to field C41 tactical systems, but also broader enterprise applications, such as personnel management, which strengthens the diversity of the SPAWAR portfolio.
Our 9.11 Technology Response
The terrible attacks of 9/11 required immediate response on a number of levels. The hospital ship, USNR Comfort was deployed to New York Harbor to provide an on-scene triage center. SPAWAR expanded its capabilities as a emergency command and control center by installing pierside tele-medicine, video-teleconferencing (VTC) capabilities, unclassified networks, telephone service and shore connectivity. In addition, we provided advanced robotics with crews for assistance in the search, rescue and recovery efforts. In the Pentagon, the Navy Command center suffered a direct hit and devastating loss of life, including our own civilian technician, Jim Lynch.
SPAWAR assisted in reestablishing the command and control connectivity and equipment at an alternative location. By September 2002, the Navy Command Center infrastructure in the Pentagon will be better than what it was before 9/11. As a result of 9/11, we are applying C4ISR technology in the area of physical security to Homeland Security (HLS). We are also exploring the application of leading edge security and surveillance devices like the cameras and electronic surveillance devices developed and installed by SSC Charleston working for the Secret Service.
CNO's Guidance to the Navy
The CNO's number one priority is readiness and he has directed the Navy to rethink our role in Homeland Security. As the CNO has said, the Navy will be called on to defend at home. We are building a relationship with the Office of Homeland Security, DoD's Executive Agent for HLS and local HLS agencies for coordination and collaboration. We are thinking about how we are going to do that as an acquisition command. We are working with the [Commander] Fleet Forces Command and following [Command in Chief Atlantic Fleet] Adm. [Robert] Natter's direction as the Navy lead in this effort. Under his direction we are bringing together the business, tactical and technical applications for the war on terrorism. To do this we have appointed our own Director of HLS and a team that is interfacing with CFFC, industry, academia, and in the Southern California area to integrate security elements and possibly regionalize these efforts in areas where airport security, port security, nuclear power plants, etc., are factors.
SPAWAR's Organization Structure and Products
Our organizational structure, shown in Figure 2, is not the typical pyramid type of organizational structure, but our business—C4I—is not a traditional business. C4I is really all about integration of products "the best of breed"--networks, systems, weapons, etc., so our organization is horizontally structured to maximize our effectiveness through horizontal integration of our products and services. The Chief Engineer at the top, engineers and designs systems, and engineering and more importantly can functionally allocate resources--balancing funds to the capabilities. The Chief Technology Officer works closely with the ONR (Office of Naval Research) and DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) to bring in new technology that leads to a build and rollout of IT-21 to the next battlegroup, for example.
The Program Directorates then use acquisition reform methods and best practices to acquire space systems, combat support applications, ISR capabilities, communications systems, networks, etc. Capabilities are packaged and roll back to the Chief Engineer for testing in shore based labs, at NAVSEA (soon to be a Joint) Distributed Engineering Plant. After testing, the program goes to the Chief Installer, who bundles up the various capabilities and schedules installs with an integrated package for installation and training on each of the ships prior to deployment. We provide Global Command and Control Systems, GPS/NAVISSI, Tactical Data Links, METOC – Afloat and Ashore, and Command Centers – afloat, ashore, ASW (Advanced SATCOM Wideband), mobile and joint.
New Technology Focus
We are concentrating research on wireless networking -- critical to C4I. Six million feet of cable has been laid out on our ships—that's a lot of weight, a lot of cable—wireless is clearly the way to go. SPAWAR plays an active roll in ACTDs (advanced concept technology demonstrations) within the extended littoral battlefield for wireless e-net, ship's infrared portal for Palm, Hydra for flight deck voice, etc. Our objective is to replace all these disparate networks and capabilities with a single IP- based wireless network that brings voice, video and data to our ships.
Space-based Systems
All of the components of network-centric warfare depend upon our ability to operate from space. Space-based systems play a central role in the collection and distribution of time-critical information, enabling forces to maintain a distinct advantage in the execution of any mission, anywhere on the globe. These requirements necessitate a seamless, interoperable, global communications grid that allows the transfer, exchange, and allocation of Satellite Communications (SATCOM) on a real-time basis.
Improving these vital assets, the next generation Advanced Narrowband Satellite Communication System will deliver cost-effective communications with improved capacity, an enhanced frequency spectrum, an advanced waveform development, optimized delivery techniques and dynamic allocation of communication resources. In addition, an eleventh Ultra High Frequency Follow On Communications Satellite (UFO 11) is planned for launch in late 2003It will maintain the availability of the UFO constellation until the next generation narrowband SATCOM system is put into place.
The Navy is the Executive Agent for the UHF spectrum. The Navy will be launching the next generation of UHF satellites—the Mobile User Objective System in the 2008 - 2010 timeframe. SPAWAR also installs the payload packages for the current constellation of satellites for GEOSat Follow-On, METOC and UHF Follow On. To take advantage of some of the new exciting technologies, we are using every bit of bandwidth capability wisely, whether it is from a commercial source -- INMARSAT, KA, KU or the military pieces -- SHF and EHF. We are working with a Digital Modular Radio, the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS), a software engineered, re-programmable radio for SHF, UHF and VHF.
The next piece of the puzzle is SATCOM bandwidth. Bandwidth is up23 percent, it needs to be up a 150 percent, but that is what the technology can support today. We are never going to be able to buy enough bandwidth so we need to manage our quality of service (QOS) and prioritize the flow of information so that we can turn these many pipes into one seamless data flow managed efficiently. Ship's connectivity to the Internet for C4I is absolutely critical, but problems with antenna blockage and EMI (electromagnetic interference) still cause battlegroups to lose connectivity. We are investigating innovative technologies—antennas, relays, arrays, line-of-sight, etc., to increase bandwidth capability and prevent this from happening. Just a short time ago, a ship at pierside had about a dozen telephone lines. When the ship deployed it went down to one telephone line and a number of circuit lines.
Now 82 percent of Navy ships are connected to the Internet. The USS Theodore Roosevelt set a record of 5 million e-mails sent on their last deployment and I guarantee you the next battlegroup will surpass that record. Today forces in the operational theater communicate by e-mail, chat rooms, VTC and Web collaboration. Connections to the piers will also be critical for training, simulations and taking advantage of the new technology before getting underway. Approximately 60 percent of all Navy piers are now connected to the World Wide Web. Pierside connectivity under the Base Level Information Infrastructure (BLII) program has been completed at 14 Naval bases in less than 18 months. More than 200 berths in the continental United States possess fiber optic connectivity, which allows ships to plug into the same high level of data flow they have at sea.
ISR/IO
Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Information Operations (ISR/IO) Network and application integration extends into the sensor and C4I domains by engineering a Network Interface Unit (NUI) into the Common Data Link, the Navy CDL-N) terminal. This feature enables us to use previously stovepiped sensor links to bridge the gap among the sensor, decision-maker and shooter. This enhancement is the first step in evolving our sensor net into another resource of integrated, interconnected, information that can be shared.
The Navy's ISR/IO systems provide our force capabilities for collecting, processing, and disseminating information while exploiting or denying an adversary's ability to do the same. As an example, Naval cryptologic operations from forward deployed forces provide unique situational awareness presence by giving insight into an adversary's operations and decision-making. SPAWAR's shipboard Information Warfare (IW) exploit systems provide information to a mix of tactical, theater and national assets. By detecting, locating, exploiting and attacking threat emitters, the systems support immediate employment of electronic attack threat warning, avoidance and targeting.
The Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare (MIUW) system provides rapid deployable electronic surveillance measures, standard and thermal video, passive sonar and radar capability. The newest version (V4) was delivered to Naval Coastal Warfare Group One in November 2001, and today is deployed in San Diego harbor providing force protection and homeport security. One of the key factors in enabling the United States to win the Cold War because of our ability to track Soviet submarines. The surveillance and cueing abilities in tactical anti-submarine warfare are critical enablers because of their ability to cover large areas while networking multiple sensor systems to produce usable contact information.
Information Fusion
To secure future readiness and achieve knowledge superiority requires the horizontal integration of NMCI and IT-21, but the backbone of NMCI/IT-21 will mean nothing without managing data flow. Information fusion through the Time Critical Strike Operational Architecture will distribute information vertically across Echelons, horizontally across resources and turn it into actionable knowledge with the ultimate objective of ISR management and weapons control.
The Vision for FORCEnet
Figure 3 illustrates the move toward FORCEnet -- a critical link in network-centric warfare and a transformational architecture for the Navy and Marine Corps that integrates sensors, networks, decision aids, weapons and supporting systems into a highly adaptive human-centric maritime system that operates from the seabed to space and from sea to land. FORCEnet will be a seamless link with Joint, Allied and coalition forces.
Enabling FORCEnet
To enable FORCEnet we need to construct the backbone through a C4 grid of sensors and weapons. We need to put the Naval piece of the Global Information Grid into place to deliver Superior Knowledge of the Adversary. The GIG provides a multi-domain, tiered network architecture that creates a shared integrated battlespace with an integrated knowledge of operation for tiered weapons and sensors. We must view computing and storage resources as a utility, plan for growth and surge requirements, develop a process for avoiding technological obsolescence and transition technology to Fleet products. We must continue to merge C4I systems and weapons systems architecture.
We must develop content delivery and management through Task Force Web (TFW). Web-enabling the Navy is vital for access to business and combat applications. We currently have too many duplicative databases--all claiming to be the "authoritative" database. We need to reduce applications and databases, institute common user access both ashore and afloat to the portals of information, and ensure replication to reduce the volume of data traveling back and forth to save limited bandwidth. The goal for content delivery and management is to be able to access information anywhere, anytime and any way.
Insertion of New Technologies - Speed to Capability
The fastest way to achieve Adm. Dennis Blair's (Command in Chief U.S. Pacific Fleet) vision of speed-to-capability -- is to let the customer have the access to the gas pedal (and the steering wheel). This level of flexibility and customization in the hands of Fleet will greatly reduce development and enhancement time. In support of this, a new paradigm should be established to enable innovation while the acquisition process catches up. We are working to establish a Resource Pool so the Fleet can prototype new capabilities while the acquisition community prepares for the transition to production. Today, development, testing and fielding of Information Technology systems continue to be driven by a process that takes almost 36 months. This is far too long and must be shortened significantly to bring the forces the tools they need quickly.
The IT industry is using a concept called "Super-Techs" to increase responsiveness for their customers. Taking our lead from industry's best practices, we have instituted Fleet Systems Engineering Teams (FSET). These highly trained, highly experienced technicians forward deploy with the operating forces to fix problems, train operators, and in some cases, build and install new capabilities on-site. This initiative has greatly enhanced the reliability of our information systems, while at the same time giving the Fleet on-site developers.
As FORCEnet drives changes to shorten the connection between what the warfighter requires and when it is delivered, we at SPAWAR are accelerating our speed-to-capability initiative. For example, the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis was scheduled in the standard process to receive an upgraded meteorological and oceanographic system in FY 03. When she was ordered to the Gulf early following the September 11 terrorist attack, SPAWAR's team acquired, tested and installed Commercial-Off-The-Shelf computers, and trained the ship's crew in less than 30 days. The carrier deployed with the latest system that has more capability than the system it was scheduled to get in FY 03.
Collapsing Overlapping Capabilities
The real challenge is going to be how we will collapse the overlapping capabilities. One of the key building block to enable FORCEnet is the Naval Fires Network. The NFN allows sensor data and other intelligence information to be rapidly converted to precise targeting data for Precision Guided Munitions (PGM). We now have the ability to take data from a sensor on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), transmit that data into the network and deliver a fire-control solution to hit the target. By integrating the capabilities of multiple systems and fielding them at key nodes in the warfighting architecture, we now have the ability to dramatically reduce the time necessary to place moving targets in the crosshairs.
NETWARCOM
I have been assigned additional duties (ADDU) to the new Naval Network Warfare Command (NETWARCOM) standing up in July 2002 under Vice Adm. Richard W. Mayo, Director, Space, Information Warfare, Command and Control, OPNAV (N6). This flag-rank command will be the type commander for Navy networks, and its establishment shows the Navy's recognition that networks, as warfare enablers, are becoming increasingly important to today's warfighter. NETWARCOM will be the central operational authority responsible for coordinating all information technology, information operations, and space requirements and operations within the Navy. Establishment of NETWARCOM will better align the various staffs needed to support the concept of one naval network and to support that network's end-to-end operational management.
Several commands will be under the authority of the commander of NETWARCOM: Naval Network and Space Operations Command (NNSOC) in Dahlgren, Va.; Fleet Information Warfare Center (FIWC) in Norfolk, Va.; and Navy Component Task Force Computer Network Defense (NCTF CND) in Washington, D.C. NNSOC will be established coincident with NETWARCOM, through the merger of the existing Naval Space Command and the Naval Network Operations Command.
The first objective for NETWARCOM is to get hold of the operational piece of the Navy's network. The Navy IT world is very different from building ships or airplanes. It is very difficult to separate the operational piece from the acquisition side because the technology continuously advances rapidly. IT-21 and NMCI constantly evolve with each build, in 18 months from now they will look differently from what they are now and in some cases changes may be fundamentally different. So we have to break the old paradigm of how to organize, acquire and equip IT for the Fleet.
My ADDU relationship to Vice Adm. Mayo will be to jointly participate in the acquisition of the IT infrastructure. This acquisition relationship is evolving much like IT does. We've had one wargame in integrating acquisition and operations. Adm. Mayo is drawing up the requirements and this is important. We will be closely linked in this process addressing what the technology and dollars can support. To avoid cross signals on how I am to direct my focus to NETWARCOM, the CINCs, and the Fleet—we will probably need to go through a couple POM cycles to sort this out. I'm very excited about NETWARCOM, it has tremendous potential—it is part of the transformation of the Navy to network-centric warfare.
New Web-enabled applications must span the network. Applications and networks will truly support the integration of sensors, networks, content, decision-aids, weapons, warriors and supporting systems into a highly adaptive system that operates from the seabed to space and from land to sea.
For more information about SPAWAR programs go to the SPAWAR public Web site at www.spawar.navy.mil.