In 2023, comparable installs required Naval Info Warfare Heart (NIWC) Pacific and Tactical Networks Program Workplace (PMW 160) engineers to board the ship and carry out the set up over one week; now Sailors can accomplish that unassisted in simply 4 hours.
“Multiply that by, what, 200, 300 Navy ships? The potential money and time financial savings there may be enormous,” mentioned Chris Johnson, head of NIWC Pacific’s command and management methods division. “It’s a win for everybody. The actual fact I don’t should ship an engineering staff onboard the ship now, and Sailors get the newest software program quick and simple — it doesn’t get any higher than that.”
Over the previous 12 months, the Command and Management Program Workplace (PMW 150) led the NIWC Pacific and PMW 160 groups in enhancing automation and utility deployment for MTC2, which helped scale back effort and time required for installations by 40% over the previous 5 over-the-air upgrades.
“I wish to emphasize how massive of a deal it was to get three totally different teams working collectively,” mentioned Michael Lee, NIWC Pacific MTC2 lead engineer. “It form of turned everybody’s growth timelines and deployment efforts on their heads, however everybody put their greatest foot ahead on this one. Communication, testing, and coordinating all these growth efforts solely labored as a result of everybody was invested and prioritized it from the highest down.”
Tripoli used underway configurations for the train to make sure Sailors may carry out the set up with out pierside assist companies usually supplied by NIWC Pacific and PMW 160 engineering groups. Throughout the train, Tripoli crew proved they might full the set up with solely supporting documentation and minimal steerage.
“Fewer boots on deck means we have now extra time to deal with software program growth, enhancing self-sustainment for the set up and utility,” mentioned Lee. Their subsequent aim is to cut back improve length to only 45 minutes someday over the following few months.
MTC2’s tactical planning instrument offers a standard operational image commanders can use to refine plans for upcoming operations, a few of which can require simultaneous execution. MTC2 offers warfighters the flexibility to plan and replan primarily based on rising occasions, and the time financial savings and accuracy essential to a dynamic menace setting— finally, a toolset to find out methods to battle and win.
“Once we first began speaking about with the ability to do one thing like this 10 or 15 years in the past, folks mentioned it was a pipe dream — it’s by no means going to occur,” Johnson mentioned. “And even when you requested somebody in 2020 if it was doable, they’d’ve mentioned, ‘Yep, it’s nonetheless a pipe dream.’ However we made it actual.”
NIWC Pacific’s mission is to conduct analysis, growth, engineering, and assist of built-in command, management, communications, computer systems, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, cyber, and house methods throughout all warfighting domains, and to quickly prototype, conduct check and analysis, and supply acquisition, set up, and in-service engineering assist.
