NSWC Corona Outfits USVs, Supports RIMPAC

Photo By Neil Mabini | JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii (June 30, 2022) The U.S. Navy prototype unmanned surface vehicle Sea Hunter sits pier side during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022. Unmanned and remotely operated vessels extend the capability of interconnected manned platform sensors to enhance the warfighting capacity of multinational joint task forces.Twenty-six nations, 38 ships, four submarines, more than 170 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 29 to Aug. 4 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2022 is the 28th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Navy photo by Neil Mabini)  

CORONA, CA, UNITED STATES

08.03.2022

Story by Brooks Hubbard IV 

Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division

CORONA, Calif. – Engineers assigned to Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division recently installed Iridium Tracking units on four unmanned vessels in support of the Rim of the Pacific 2022, the world’s largest maritime exercise.

The ITUs provided critical information like time, course, speed, latitude and longitude, allowing the Navy to track USV Sea Hunter, USV Sea Hawk, USV Ranger and USV Nomad on its Global Command Communications System-Maritime (GCCS-M).

Engineer Abraham Marcelo of the command’s Performance Assessment Department facilitated the installation of the ITUs ahead of the exercise.

“This is a new support role that we have been performing for the fleet as far as unmanned systems are concerned,” said Marcelo. “We ensured those USVs had the proper space to mount the devices onto the vessels and also validated our ability to broadcast data through data paths and data link architecture, enabling critical tracking on our Commander, U.S. Third Fleet (C3F) common operational picture and recording in the Joint After Action Review-Resource Library (JAAR-L).”

Science Advisor Joseph Brus, assigned to the NSWC Corona Expedition Systems Engineering Division but detailed to the Office of Naval Research as a science advisor for C3F, agreed.

“The installation of these systems on the USVs demonstrates how the Warfare Centers integrate new capabilities and technologies into the fleet environment, where they can be utilized by the warfighter,” said Brus.

“Without that integration, you would see new capabilities developed but never making it to the fleet. The Warfare Centers create opportunities to directly experiment with or involve new capability sets that meet the demands of the warfighters before they are introduced to the fleet.”

For RIMPAC, the unmanned vessels transited between southern California and the Hawaiian Islands alongside manned Navy ships. As part of the exercise focused on collaboration between the United States and our capable, adaptive partners, the USVs were used to stress the capabilities of coalition forces in a maritime environment. The information received from the tracking devices was automatically fed into the Quantitative Fleet Feedback program, providing the fleet with data analysis and technical assistance from NSWC Corona analysts ashore.

“The analysis piece that NSWC Corona provides allows us to have confidence and understand that the vessels do perform as designed,” said Brus. “Or, in some cases, the analysis allows us to identify a particular concern or issue – as is the case if a test doesn’t go as expected – so we can really drill down to a root cause analysis and make corrections to those systems under development. This kind of work adds tons of insight and value to exercises and overall mission readiness.”

RIMPAC 2022 brought 26 nations, 38 surface ships, three submarines, nine national land forces, more than 30 unmanned systems, approximately 170 aircraft and more 25,000 personnel together for a successful exercise across all warfare domains.

NSWC Corona Division has provided analysis and assessment for the Navy since 1964. With experience in gauging the Navy’s warfighting capability, NSWC Corona is a leader in NAVSEA data analytics. Corona utilizes networked data environments, data and visualization, and measurement technology to bridge the Navy’s data silos, enabling informed decision-making for the warfighter. Anchor to the Inland Empire Tech Bridge, NSWC Corona is located in Norco, California, with detachments in Fallbrook and Seal Beach and personnel in 14 additional locations.

• Date Taken: 08.03.2022
• Date Posted: 08.23.2022 14:59
• Story ID: 427637
• Location: CORONA, CA, US