NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The Navy needs to standardize information coming into the maritime operations centers so commanders can make the best decisions as a crisis escalates into conflict, a senior panel said on Monday.
Speaking Monday at the Navy League’s Sea Air Space symposium, Vice Adm. Karl Thomas, deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare, said, “we need to harvest the stuff that really matters” for commanders ni maritime operations centers to make those decisions “to out-maneuver and out -think an adversary” in the high-end fight.
The goal is a better fusion of data, sensors and weapons. The Navy’s latest navigation plan has emphasized the importance of maritime operations centers in future conflicts.
As an example of change affecting decisions, Thomas said, “the range of fires only gets longer” and all domains from the seabed to space may be involved in the conflict.. Yet at the same time, the Navy is countering short-range drone and missile attacks in the Red Sea.
Sustainment of forces, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, has taken on heightened importance as the People’s Republic of China’s ambitions include control of the South China Sea.
Rear Adm. Susan Bryer-Joyner said, “what is the qualitative and authoritative data the commander needs” at speed and scale in the updated Maritime Operations Center. The concept of the centers has been in the Navy since the early 2000s.
Commanders need machine learning, artificial intelligence, the digital cloud and big data. “We’ve got to be able to protect that data [coming in from multiple sources] down to where it needs to go,” she said.
She added later, “standards should be better now for interoperability,” as the joint force moves from network-centric warfighting to data-centric approaches.
Vice Adm. Craig Clapperton, commander Fleet Cyber Command, added that machine learning, artificial intelligence are “a great tool, but it’s not going to make the decision for you.”
“Everything in warfare will have to have at machine speed,” Vice Adm. Michael Vernazza, commander Naval Information Forces, said in explaining how manuals are being reviewed and updated and sailors trained to achieve proficiency in the seven basic warfighting tasks in this changed environment.
“Connecting the dots” was how he described the effort.
Clapperton said his command’s unique position involves space and cyber and integration of non-kinetic effects. It also has “significant ‘five eyes’ participation.” “Five eyes” refers to the long-standing sharing of intelligence among the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
At the same time, he stressed the need to also apply standardization to hardware and software to avoid “stovepiping data” that other panelists mentioned.
Vernazza said command training teams will keep proficiency up for those already in the centers and build the skills needed for sailors just entering. “They will do the sets and reps.”
He added, “We do a lot of learning by doing.”
Looking to industry Bryer-Joyner said the Navy is very interested in “novel ways of communicating” in a battlefield and naval operations are dispersed where communications will be disrupted.
But the number one investment should be in cloud infrastructure and zero trust technology.
“If you don’t have an assured command and platforms [that can be] defended, all you have is flashing lights,” Clapperton said.
