Photo By Frank Kaminski | Shown here is Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport's "Innovation Pipeline...... read more read more
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Guided by a “Builders, Not Bureaucrats” philosophy that emphasizes action over red tape, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport is accelerating its innovation pipeline through advancements in manufacturing and digital technologies.
At the command’s Undersea Systems & Sustainment Engineering Department, engineers and technicians are developing innovations in the realms of artificial intelligence, machine learning, advanced manufacturing and repair processes, and augmented, virtual and mixed reality to proactively address critical operational challenges and strengthen Fleet readiness. The department is also placing renewed focus on workforce development and process improvement.
“We’re working to foster a culture of innovation within the department, encouraging projects and ideas from across the team,” said Jeremy Landis, the department’s technology officer. “The goal is to capture those ideas and translate them into general requirements, so that when opportunities arise, we’re ready to align those innovations with the [Naval Sea Systems Command Enterprise Strategy and Lines of Effort]. Our goal is to create a continuous pipeline of innovation that allows us to rapidly develop and deploy new technologies.”
The ethos driving both the command’s and the department’s work is something Landis calls the “Builders, Not Bureaucrats” philosophy, which calls for a shift away from rigid adherence to outdated processes and administrative roadblocks and toward practical problem-solving and faster implementation of new technologies.
The department’s work also directly supports the Naval Sea Systems Command Enterprise Strategy Lines of Effort, five focus areas guiding NAVSEA’s mission. It is particularly aligned with the first two LOEs: “Accelerate Force Generation” and “Generate Readiness,” focused, respectively, on speeding the delivery and deployment of ships and systems and ensuring naval assets are fully maintained and mission capable.
By embracing these LOEs and Landis’ “Builders, Not Bureaucrats” philosophy, the USSE Department is paving the way for a more efficient, agile, resilient U.S. Navy.
The department’s Digital Transformation Division, led by Lisa Andrews, is central to these efforts. The division, which works with artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science and extended reality (XR), is investigating novel ways of combining these technologies.
“When we look at ways to combine them, I think we're going to see a fourfold return,” said Andrews.
The division’s XR products are centered on training for Sailors and civilian maintainers. Current projects include a fire safety simulation that allows maintainers to train for dangerous situations in a safe, virtual setting, and a dry dock model designed to provide "just-in-time" training for infrequently performed, complex operations.
Michael Dean, an XR software developer in the division, said these virtual environments not only help fill critical training gaps but also improve training efficiency.
“It gives them the chance to learn skills they never had the opportunity to practice before, and they’re able to complete the training much faster,” said Dean.
NUWC Division, Keyport’s augmented and virtual reality training innovations were featured in [a video](https://www.dvidshub.net/video/961445/augmented-virtual-reality-saving-navy-time-money-training) on the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service website.
The division is also developing AI-driven predictive modeling to improve its obsolescence management capabilities. Early research shows this modeling technology, designed to forecast when critical components will become obsolete, to be more than 80 percent accurate.
Jason Voeltz, acting deputy department head, said this technology offers a significant advantage over traditional methods that rely on notifications from parts manufacturers, which often leave little time for corrective action.
“This forecasting will allow us to identify an obsolete part even before the company's determined that they're going to obsolete the product," said Voeltz. “Identifying when things go obsolete helps us develop better solutions and implement those solutions before they become an impact to readiness of the warfighters.”
Andrews added that the Digital Transformation Division's unique functional alignment, which allows staff specializing in similar areas to share knowledge and resources, helps prevent knowledge silos and boost overall efficiency.
The division is also implementing automated dashboards to optimize its project planning, streamline its decision-making processes and obtain real-time insights into its operational performance.
Advanced manufacturing and repair technologies are another key focus area for the department. According to Industrial Sustainment Technology Manager Bryce Weber, digitally integrated Industry 4.0 technologies deliver solutions "at the point of need." He explained that the ability to provide a proven, digital data file to multiple distributed additive manufacturing or robotic repair systems reduces the need for storing or shipping physical inventory, enabling faster repairs and more efficient sustainment.
“That point of need might be a shoreside naval shipyard, a forward-operating base, or on a deployed ship or submarine,” said Weber. “That's what's exciting about advanced manufacturing and repair—we can impact the maintenance and sustainment ecosystem in a number of different battle spaces on demand.”
The command's additive manufacturing efforts were highlighted earlier this year in [a story in DOD News](https://www.war.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/Article/4063230/additive-manufacturing-brings-money-saving-innovations-to-life-at-nuwc-keyport/).
-KPT-
Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport is headquartered in the state of Washington on the Puget Sound, about 10 miles west of Seattle. To provide ready support to Fleet operational forces at all major Navy homeports in the Pacific, NUWC Division, Keyport maintains detachments in San Diego, California and Honolulu, Hawaii, and remote operating sites in Guam; Japan; Hawthorne, Nevada; and Portsmouth, Virginia. At NUWC Division, Keyport, our diverse and highly skilled team of engineers, scientists, technicians, administrative professionals and industrial craftsmen work tirelessly to develop, maintain and sustain undersea warfare superiority for the United States.
| Date Taken: | 11.14.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 11.14.2025 16:55 |
| Story ID: | 551145 |
| Location: | KEYPORT, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 76 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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