ARLINGTON, Va.—The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), Adm. Jonathan Greenert, today outlined his thoughts on three science and technology objectives for the Navy and Marine Corps of the future, at the Naval Future Force Science and Technology (S&T) EXPO in Washington, D.C.
Speaking before nearly 3,000 attendees from across government, academia and industry, Greenert charged his audience to reduce reliance on gunpowder; increase stamina for underwater unmanned vehicles’ power and propulsion systems; and increase focus on cybersecurity.
“Number one, you’ve got to get us off gunpowder,” said Greenert, noting that Office of Naval Research-supported weapon programs like Laser Weapon System (LaWS) and the Electromagnetic Railgun are vital to the future force. “We will have an incredibly deep magazine when we bring [those weapons] in.”
Weapons like LaWS have a virtually unlimited magazine, only constrained by power and cooling capabilities onboard the vessel carrying them. In addition, Greenert noted the added safety for Sailors and Marines that will come from reducing dependency on gunpowder-based munitions.
“Probably the biggest vulnerability of a ship is its magazine—because that’s where all the explosives are,” he said.
He also cited the tremendous cost savings offered by, for instance, laser weapons fired at a dollar per shot, or low-cost Electromagnetic Railgun projectiles, versus needing to rely on million-dollar missiles, in some cases without the same range, for all threats and missions.
Greenert’s second challenge for the S&T community is to develop “greater stamina” in unmanned underwater vehicle propulsion systems, to maintain naval dominance in the undersea domain.
“I need them compact and reliable in their power and propulsion, but I also need them safe,” he said.
And, as the Ohio-class submarines near replacement age, Greenert noted that increased range and endurance for unmanned systems will be vital for the future fleet with the overall number of submarines projected to decrease.
Greenert’s final S&T objective centers on cybersecurity—something, he said, that keeps him up at night.
“I need you to lock your IT doors,” he told the EXPO attendees. “You do it at home, and you need to keep that mindset at work.
“Cybersecurity is a key requirement for all our systems and weapons.”
He encouraged scientists and engineers to include security in the initial design of everything they do, rather than trying to add security measures later.
The CNO also discussed the history of game-changing technologies that have come from the naval S&T community, including GPS, advanced radar and quiet propulsion capabilities—and went on to say, “We continue to rely on you.”
The host of the EXPO, Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Mat Winter, introduced the CNO and spoke about the importance of naval S&T research for the future force—including the essential partnerships between the Naval Research Enterprise, academia and industry.
The Naval Future Force Science and Technology EXPO is the Navy’s premier science and technology event, showcasing some of the latest cutting-edge research being undertaken by the Office of Naval Research. It brings together thousands of participants to learn and share ideas on technologies that can help support the warfighter of today and tomorrow.
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