The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport and the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) recently hosted an Industry Day with the Undersea Technology Innovation Consortium (UTIC) at the Wyndham Newport Hotel in Middletown, Rhode Island. The event drew over 200 industry partners to discuss the latest collaboration efforts between the Navy and industry in undersea technology.
Rear Adm. Michael Van Poots, commander of the Undersea Warfighting Development Center, highlighted the Navy’s current interests: robotics, unmanned undersea vehicles, artificial intelligence, and large language models. He emphasized the importance of strategic problem-solving, citing the example of the USS Florida, a 40-year-old submarine successfully executing a strike mission in the Red Sea, well beyond its original design.
Following Van Poots’ address, NAVSEA and warfare center engineers presented technical problems to attendees, seeking solutions through industry partnership. These challenges covered various aspects of undersea warfare technology, including the design of a next-generation submarine dry deck shelter, a test bed engine, and a lightweight torpedo afterbody technical data package refresh.
Mike Cockey, deputy director of Undersea Warfare for NUWC/Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Headquarters, underscored the increasing role of undersea warfare in strategic competition, highlighting its prominence in the 2022 National Defense Strategy. He pointed out that the 2012 National Defense Strategy prioritized undersea warfare in four or five areas, while the 2022 National Defense Strategy prioritizes undersea warfare across all areas.
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Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.