Photo By David Stoehr | Rhode Island Secretary of Commerce Stefan Pryor (second from left) shares information...... read more read more
NEWPORT, R.I.–As the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport looks to expand on its “Mastery of the Seas at All Depths” strategic vision, collaborating with industry partners will be a vital piece to success. To that end, the command hosted Rhode Island Secretary of Commerce Stefan Pryor for discussions and tours at the warfare center on Jan. 16. “I’m glad to be visiting NUWC once again,” Pryor said. “I’ve been here a number of times, and I’m always incredibly impressed with the extraordinarily incredible work that you do here and the effective work you do here. We’re so pleased to have an ongoing relationship that has gone through phases of exciting work together.” Also visiting Division Newport were James Bennett, president and chief executive officer of the R.I. Commerce Corp.; Christopher Albert, the state director for U.S. Sen. Jack Reed; and Kevin Czinger, founder and executive chairman of Divergent Technologies, a California-based additive manufacturing company. “Coming here to NUWC is great because you are a hub of activity,” Bennett said. Dr. Jason Gomez, Division Newport’s chief technology officer, provided an overview of the command and stressed the importance of working alongside industry to develop next-generation technologies. “Hopefully we get the point across that we don’t act alone in any of what we do,” Gomez said. “It’s the partnerships that really make the difference. We have a lot of great folks here, but there is so much need now that we have to find partners.” In fiscal year 2025, Division Newport executed 2,370 contract actions worth $1.27 billion in obligations, including $300 million small business obligations. Stephen Lamb, head of the Contracts Department, said his group is exploring more nontraditional methods, including the use of Other Transaction Authority (OTA) and Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO), to “diversify the players on the field that make everything happen.” Division Newport has more than 100 Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) in place with various organizations and enjoys a significant relationship with the Undersea Technology Innovation Consortium (UTIC), which drives cross-organization partnerships around innovation and prototyping to the mutual benefit of the commercial and defense communities. Of the roughly 300 UTIC member organizations, 20 are located in Rhode Island. Partnerships will be key as Division Newport embarks on its 10-year strategic vision that centers on closing kill chains by advancing defined Capability Focus Areas (CFAs). These areas include subsea and seabed warfare, assured communications and undersea robotic and autonomous systems. As the Department of War drives reforms within its acquisition process, a move aimed at prioritizing speed and flexibility in technology delivery, Division Newport leadership understands the importance of collaboration to meet its goals and visions. “We’re not a one-stop shop,” Technical Director Marie Bussiere said. “It’s not cradle-to-grave here. We have our sweet spots and our subject matter expertise, but we can’t do it without industry partners. That’s why these partnerships are so important, especially with the work we don’t do here.” After briefings with Division Newport leadership, the tour group visited Torpedo Alley and the Propulsion Test Facility, where Doug Arnold of the Undersea Warfare (USW) Weapons, Vehicles, and Defensive Systems Department, provided a brief history of the warfare center’s involvement with torpedo development and an overview of the U.S. Navy’s only land-based facility for full system mechanical testing for torpedoes and other underwater systems. Eric Warner, a mechanical engineer in the USW Weapons, Vehicles, and Defensive Systems Department, explained the work done in the Mechanics of Materials Laboratory before the tour wrapped up with a stop in the Anechoic Chamber, a dual-use facility for advanced studies in active noise and vibration cancellation. Divergent Technologies, founded in 2014, started as a company devoted to revolutionizing the manufacturing of automobiles, but has moved into the defense realm, particularly with the design and engineering of U.S. Navy missiles. “Last week, we hosted Divergent 3D and a contingent from Commerce RI to explore how their ‘Factory as a Service’ model could transform undersea warfare production,” Deputy Technical Director Steve O’Grady wrote in an email sent to the workforce on Jan. 23. “By refactoring mechanical designs to reduce part counts by upwards of 95%, they offer a path to radically simpler manufacturing and a leaner supply chain. I challenge our workforce to imagine how this type of scalable, digital infrastructure could help us deliver capability to the warfighter at the speed of relevance, if we could ‘spin up’ manufacturing as easily as we do cloud computing, how would that change the way we innovate?” NUWC Newport is the oldest warfare center in the country, tracing its heritage to the Naval Torpedo Station established on Goat Island in Newport Harbor in 1869.Commanded by Capt. Kevin Behm, NUWC Newport maintains major detachments in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Andros Island in the Bahamas, as well as test facilities at Seneca Lake and Fisher's Island, New York, Leesburg, Florida, and Dodge Pond, Connecticut.
| Date Taken: | 02.09.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 02.09.2026 15:13 |
| Story ID: | 557773 |
| Location: | NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 12 |
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