Naval Oceanography Spearheads New Test, Evaluation Process

Photo By Lt. Caitlin Fine | PEARL HARBOR, HI (14 January 2019)- Mr. Josh Nelson (left), Information Systems Department Head, works on the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) displays on the newly re-designed watchfloor at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). Lt. David Price (right), Operations Department Head, views satellite imagery on the Automated Tropical Cyclone Forecasting system (ATCF) terminal, the current system at JTWC for viewing satellite imagery and numerical model guidance. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center recently re-organized their watchfloor to make room for the eventual adoption of Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS). The National Weather Service (NWS) and National Hurricane Center already use AWIPS for viewing satellite and numerical weather model data, and NWS uses it for issuing watches and warnings.  

STENNIS SPACE CENTER , MS, UNITED STATES

03.02.2022

Story by Jonathan Holloway 

Command, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. — U.S. Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (Naval Oceanography) is utilizing cutting-edge methodologies for: Fleet experimentation; test and evaluation(T&E); tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) development; and mission engineering of warfare systems, known as Live Virtual Constructive Modeling & Simulation (LVC M&S).
Essentially, LVC M&S is: Live-simulation involving real-people operating real-systems; Virtual-simulation with real-people operating simulated systems; and Constructive-simulation of simulated people operating simulated systems—all working to create the most realistic model and simulation of a physical-battlespace.
“We must embrace LVC Training to preserve our advantages, allowing units at all stages of force generation to maximize training for high-end warfare.” said Adm. Michael Gilday, U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations. “To retain our readiness advantage, OPNAV N9 will continue development of a LVC environment, integrating the intensity of live with high-fidelity synthetic representations.”
Typical T&E requirements of Navy warfare systems include live-venues, movement of billion dollar assets, disruption in scheduled operations, and dedicated personnel, proving costly in price and efficacy of mission-operations.
With LVC M&S, testing goes beyond availability of “typical T&E requirements” and provides decision-makers with multiple sets and repetitions of a warfare system for assessment.
According to the Navy Concept for Distributed Maritime Operations 2019, “The Fleet needs an environment that supports the design, testing, acquisition, and release of capabilities…. [t]his environment should support exploring new concepts and creating improvements.”
Expansion of LVC M&S meets the Navy’s current need of high-velocity learning and rapid transition of capability to the Fleet, to ultimately afford end-users with early access to emerging technologies—to facilitate a pace of advancement necessary to maintain warfighting edge.
Naval Oceanography participated in the 2020 and 2021 LVC M&S exercise sponsored by the Navy Research and Development Enterprise (NR&DE) on the Naval Integrated LVC M&S Environment (NILE).
“We [Naval Oceanography] are motivated about our involvement with annual LVC testing,” said Ms. Betty Jester, Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (CNMOC) Chief Technology Officer. “Having Naval Oceanography as a ‘node in the NILE’ allows for environmental ground-truth utilized by all the virtual and constructive capabilities networked as part of NILE.”
As an NRD&DE endeavor, NILE is a collaborative environment accessible to both the Navy’s Fleet and acquisition community, with a primary goal to provide optimal mission-based context from to all stakeholders involved in the acquisition-to-transition process.
Naval Oceanography provides the fleet with a dynamic, four-dimensional physical battlespace operating picture, incorporating a vast collection of environmental data into physics-based, numerical weather and ocean prediction systems, development and dissemination of precise time star catalog and Earth orientation information.
CNMOC, the Department of Defense’s authoritative source for environmental characterization and transforming knowledge of physical battlespace into winning decisions.
Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command directs and oversees more than 2,500 globally-distributed military and civilian personnel who collect, process and exploit environmental information to assist Fleet and Joint Commanders in all warfare areas to make better decisions faster than the adversary.

• Date Taken: 03.02.2022
• Date Posted: 03.02.2022 16:42
• Story ID: 415634
• Location: STENNIS SPACE CENTER , MS, US