Photo By Jhon Parsons | The technical director of Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare...... read more read more
NAVFAC EXWC Commanding Officer Capt. Dean Allen and Technical Director Kail Macias have highlighted the critical role of innovation, collaboration and experimentation for delivering solutions to the warfighter in today’s rapidly changing technological landscape.
Allen and Macias kicked off the two-day FATHOMWERX Summit 2025 with other cohosts, lauding the benefits of partnerships with industry and academia in accelerating technology and innovation.
The hundreds of participants gathering at the FATHOMWERX laboratory space Oct. 15-16 in the Port of Hueneme, Allen said, have a singular focus: to collaborate, innovate and ultimately enable the warfighter.
Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command’s (NAVFAC) only warfare center, NAVFAC EXWC is a small but agile command that comprises technical experts in the Expeditionary, Ocean and Shore technical domains, he explained.
The diverse portfolio and critical work that spans the globe relies on rapid and agile solutions.
“I would argue that for EXWC, at least, innovation is not just optional – it's essential. It ensures our mission success,” Allen said, adding, the collaboration, innovation and partnerships through FATHOMWERX have been “absolutely indispensable.”
In the keynote address, Macias warned how adversaries and strategic competitors are taking advantage of cutting-
edge technologies, making it more urgent than ever for rapid solutions, through both traditional and non-traditional pathways.
“Things such as artificial intelligence, ubiquitous sensors, unmanned autonomous systems and long-range precision weapons are proliferating, making contested spaces more transparent and more lethal and transforming how the navies will fight the future fight,” Macias said.
NAVFAC EXWC is using traditional as well as non-traditional means, he said, to achieve rapid results. For example, he noted contracts for expeditionary engineering reconnaissance have been executed through Other Transaction Authority (OTA) that allows federal agencies to enter Other Transaction (OT) agreements that access research and development (R&D) projects or prototypes from commercial resources, providing more flexible and faster options than traditional government acquisition contracting.
This is important, Macias explained, because it significantly cuts down the time for project execution. He shared how surveying and mapping for construction projects used to take weeks or months, but the work can now be accomplished in days thanks to the technology accessed through the OTs. The acceleration allows decisions to be made and infrastructure projects to quickly begin, critical when time is of the essence in forward deployed or contested environments.
In addition, NAVFAC EXWC utilizes Cooperative Research and Development Agreements, or CRADAs, which are agreements between a federal laboratory and a non-federal party to perform collaborative research and development to support the laboratory’s mission; Educational Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with educational institutions to advance the STEM and business pipeline; and Partnership Intermediary Agreements (PIAs) with non-federal entities to promote technology transfer and commercialization.
Macias complimented the FATHOMWERX technology-based hub as the perfect example of a collaborative ecosystem where government, industry, academia, and other stakeholders can come together for testing, experimentation and getting to the solutions the warfighter needs, “bringing the best and brightest together so that we can tackle these problems makes a huge difference.”
NAVFAC EXWC is a partner at FATHOMWERX, with Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, the Port of Hueneme, Matterlabs, and the Economic Development Collaborative.
Headquartered at Naval Base Ventura County, NAVFAC EXWC provides technology and unique, agile solutions for the warfighter focusing on expeditionary, oceans, and shore needs.
| Date Taken: | 12.16.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 12.16.2025 14:40 |
| Story ID: | 554397 |
| Location: | NAVAL BASE VENTURA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 20 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, NAVFAC EXWC Highlights Vital Role of Innovation in Supporting the Warfighter, by CPO Lisa Ferdinando, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
