New Study on the History of Pentagon Reforms Holds Warnings for Current DoD Innovation Efforts

China’s threats to invade Taiwan and Russia’s attack on Ukraine are pushing the Pentagon to seek out adapt to a changing global security environment, the author of a new report on Defense Department innovation said this week.

“The fact the red lights are blinking should wake us from the stupor,” said Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment CEO Thomas Mahnken said Tuesday. Innovators in the services and the Pentagon and senior uniformed and civilian leaders can come to an understanding that...

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/15/new-study-on-the-history-of-pentagon-reforms-holds-warnings-for-current-dod-innovation-efforts

Navy’s Force Design 2045 Plans for 373 Ship Fleet, 150 Unmanned Vessels

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) sails alongside amphibious assault carrier USS Tripoli (LHA-7) during a photo exercise for Valiant Shield 2022 on June 12, 2022. US Navy Photo

The latest plan to design a future force calls for a fleet of 373 manned ships, buttressed by about 150 unmanned surface and underwater vehicles by 2045, according to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday’s update to his Navigation Plan for the Navy.

“In the 2040s and beyond, we envision this hybrid fleet to require more...

https://news.usni.org/2022/07/26/navys-force-design-2045-plans-for-373-ship-fleet-150-unmanned-vessels

Report to Congress on Army’s ‘Project Convergence’

The following June 2, 2022, Congressional Research Service In Focus report, The Army’s Project Convergence.

From the report

What Is the Army’s Project Convergence? 

Project Convergence is what the Army calls a “campaign of learning,” designed to further integrate the Army into the Joint Force. It is how the Army intends to play a role in Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2), the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) plan to connect sensors and weapon systems from all the military services—Air...

https://news.usni.org/2022/06/03/report-to-congress-on-armys-project-convergence

Panel: Pentagon Needs to be Clearer On Goals for JADC2

US Air Force Image

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The Pentagon and military services need to make clear to industry, allies and partners what exactly they are striving for when they call for Joint All Domain Command and Control in future conflicts, a senior business executive and defense analyst said Tuesday.

Margaret Calomino, senior director of strategy at L3Harris, said “industry is working with as many as possible” [in the services] to understand what is going to be a “joint standard.” “We need to...

https://news.usni.org/2022/04/06/panel-pentagon-needs-to-be-clearer-on-goals-for-jadc2

Large Scale Exercise 2021 Tests How Navy, Marines Could Fight a Future Global Battle

Fire Controlman 2nd Class Carlos Jaimez, left, and Fire Controlman 2nd Class Hector Wimmer control a close-in weapons system during a tracking-and-firing exercise aboard the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) on Aug. 8, 2021. US Navy Photo

ABOARD GUIDED MISSILE CRUISER USS SAN JACINTO – The Navy and Marine Corps have bet big that they have locked into a workable vision on how they’ll fight in the future, kicking off a massive exercise last week to prove their concepts.

The...

https://news.usni.org/2021/08/09/large-scale-exercise-2021-tests-how-navy-marines-could-fight-a-future-global-battle

INDO-PACOM Used Ground-based Aegis Combat System Prototype to Target Missile Threats, Surface Targets

Overview of Valiant Shield 2020 experiment that paired a ground-based Aegis combat system with Army units. Lockheed Martin Image

Last year, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command quietly packed the combat system from a guided-missile destroyer into about the size of a footlocker, took it ashore and hooked it up to an Army artillery unit, an Air Force command node and an F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter.

Last September, INDO-PACOM used the Virtualized Aegis Weapon System (VAWS) in an experiment to see if...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/29/indo-pacom-used-ground-based-aegis-combat-system-prototype-to-target-missile-threats-surface-targets

Navy to Experiment with Information Warfare Commanders Operating from Maritime Operations Centers

Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Alexander Hess, from Ft. Wayne, Ind., stands watch in the combat information center aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG-65). US Navy Photo

After seeing how effective it is for an information warfare commander to operate within a carrier strike group, the Navy will now experiment with placing an IWC in its Maritime Operations Centers.

Speaking at the virtual C4ISRNET conference on Wednesday, Vice Adm. Jeffrey Trussler, the deputy chief...

https://news.usni.org/2021/04/22/navy-to-experiment-with-information-warfare-commanders-operating-from-maritime-operations-centers

Navy Software Factory, The Forge, Wants to Reshape How Ships Get Upgraded

The Forge software factory was set up in Riverdale, Md. — just off the University of Maryland College Park campus — in March 2021 to begin using a rapid software development and testing approach to bring maintenance fixes and new capabilities to the fleet. USNI News photo.

RIVERDALE, Md. – The Navy’s potential enemies are quickly increasing the size and sophistication of their fleets, which means the Navy needs to move faster too in bringing in new capabilities.

The sea service envisions a new...

https://news.usni.org/2021/04/12/navy-software-factory-the-forge-wants-to-reshape-how-ships-get-upgraded

Navy to Field Early ‘Project Overmatch’ Battle Network on Theodore Roosevelt CSG in 2023

USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) transits the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 18, 2020. US Navy Photo

The Navy envisions a future fleet with manned and unmanned ships, submarines and aircraft operating in a dispersed manner and collecting a ton of data to fill in a common operating picture – which operational commanders could then use to, if ever needed, have the best sensor platform send targeting data to the best shooter to attack an enemy. That entire vision, though, would require a robust network that...

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