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West 2021

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West 2021 Articles

Marines Assume Navy Role in New Integration

Networking advances will empower force flexibility.

Marines and sailors aboard the amphibious assault ship USS New Orleans execute small boat drills in the Philippine Sea. Greater integration between the Navy and Marine Corps is leading to more joint operations in support of maritime security. Credit: Lance Cpl. Grace Gerlach, USMC

SEALS Enlist Artificial Intelligence for Special Missions

AI will augment human weapon systems and unmanned systems.

Navy SEALs conduct train in the Atlantic Ocean, May 29, 2019. Navy Special Warfare Command expects artificial intelligence to augment the human weapon system as well as unmanned systems. Credit: Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Jayme Pastoric

Reserve SEAL Teams to Enhance Experimentation

Special operators explore future roles.

Navy SEALs conduct dive operations training in the Atlantic Ocean, May 29, 2019. A proposed reserve force of combat-ready, active-duty special operators could allow the Navy Special Warfare Command the agility it needs to respond to the full spectrum of missions around the globe while experimenting with new tactics, techniques and procedures. Credit: Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Jayme Pastoric

Information Warfare is 'Indispensable' to Naval Operations

The United States must continue to advance information operations in order to prevail in long term strategic competition, leader says.

Following her tenure as commander of Office of Naval Intelligence, Vice Adm. Kelly Aeschbach, USN, stepped into the role of commander of Naval Information Forces in May. Here the vice admiral is pictured speaking during a ceremony in May 2021 with now-retired Vice Adm. Brian Brown, USN, looking on. Credit: U.S. Navy/Robert Fluegel

U.S. Navy Needs Abundant Quantities of Unmanned Vessels

The sea services should aggressively pursue plans for autonomous air, surface and subsurface platforms, experts say.

A Seahawk unmanned surface vessel in the Pacific Ocean and an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter from the Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 73 participate in U.S. Pacific Fleet’s Unmanned Systems Integrated Battle Problem 21 in April. Naval exercises have been crucial to aiding the integration of unmanned vessels into the fleet and pairing with manned capabilities, experts say. Credit: U.S. Navy/Chief Mass Communication Specialist Shannon Renfroe

Interoperability Key in Navy Fight Against Cyber Adversaries

The mix of ships adds to the need for workable security tools.

Quality assurance specialists at the Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific inspect network racks in the center's Network Integration and Engineering Facility. The Navy is tasking industry with providing cybersecurity solutions that are interoperable across the service. (Credit: Rick Naystatt, U.S. Navy)

Flying Right Into Open Architecture

The Navy’s acquisition strategy aims at open architectures in aviation programs.

In its pursuit of open architecture solutions, the U.S. Navy has made “great strides” in applying the Mission Computer Alternative (MCA) platform, which is a Hardware Open Systems Technologies- (HOST-) conforming mission computer. The service is currently testing the MCA/HOST platform in its E-2D Advanced Hawkeye tactical airborne early warning aircraft and in its T-45 training aircraft (above)—and is considering how to advance the solutions to other platforms. U.S. Navy photo

Two T-45C Goshawks attached to Training Air Wing 2 sit aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) in 2018. The Navy is conducting testing of open architecture systems for the T-45 platform. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Mario Coto

The Navy is at the early stages of exploring open architecture solutions for its other major aircraft platforms, including the CMV-22 Osprey (pictured) and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. In July 2020, a CMV-22B Osprey, attached to the Blackjacks of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two One (HX-21), lands on the flight deck aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York in the Atlantic Ocean. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Lyle Wilkie

An MQ-8B Navy Fire Scout hovers over the flight deck of the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Montgomery in the South China Sea in January 2020. The Navy is exploring how to apply the Future Airborne Capability Environment, or FACE, open architecture to unmanned platforms such as the Fire Scout. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Chris Roys

Sailors stand by while an F/A-18 Hornet launches from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in 2012. The Navy’s use of modular open architecture solutions allows the service to bring rapid updates to legacy platforms, including as part of its F/A-18 Distributed Targeted Processor-Networked effort. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Sabrina Fine

Innovation Drives Naval Integration

Speeding new systems into the service dominates modernization efforts.

The USS John Finn launches a missile during the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s Unmanned Systems Integrated Battle Problem 21 in April. Integrating unmanned systems into the fleet is one of the challenges facing the Navy as it modernizes to meet growing adversarial threats. U.S. Navy photo

The USS Independence, USS Manchester and USS Tulsa move in formation in the eastern Pacific. These ships can operate within a network of surface combatants, which will be essential for the Navy to integrate capabilities and establish a kill web against adversaries. U.S. Navy photo