Washington: One of the US Navy’s program executive offices is a few months into a pilot program aimed at enabling rapid acquisition, which could pave the way for a larger change in how the military branches develop and buy weapons systems.
Program Executive Officer for Integrated Warfare Systems Rear Admiral Seiko Okano was tapped this fall to lead a pilot program centred on two efforts: finding creative solutions to war fighter problems that can be tested and fielded quickly, and then considering how to change the budgeting process so these new capabilities can be quickly purchased.
Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro announced the pilot program around the same time he signed off on the establishment of the Disruptive Capabilities Office and the Department of the Navy Science and Technology Board, with all three efforts acknowledging technology and global threats are moving much faster than the traditional acquisition system.
“We have to get capability out faster,” Okano said adding that “people are kind of like, okay, well, how do you do this? Because our whole system is rigged to get capability out in the five- to 10-year timeframe.”
To address the first goal of the pilot program, Okano said, PEO IWS established a Rapid Capabilities Office to talk to fleet operators about the problems they face and identify what existing technology could solve those problems.
An early case was a requirement for more Standard Missile-6 launchers at sea. The SM-6 is launched from ships and can be used against enemy aircraft, incoming cruise and ballistic missiles and even ships, making it a flexible option fleet commanders want more of. Within months, PEO IWS led an effort to install a virtualised Aegis Combat System and containerised launcher cells onto littoral combat ship Savannah, culminating in a successful October test event.
Through this bolt-on solution, the Navy could quickly put more missile launchers out to sea without paying for expensive modifications to its ships.
