NIWC Atlantic team tests exploratory technology

Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlanticdemonstrated nine exploratory technologies during the 21st Century CombinedArms Advanced Naval Technology Exercise (ANTX) East July 9-20 at Marine Corps BaseCamp Lejeune, North Carolina.

The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps worked to provide a platformfor more than 35 government agencies, industry and academia to test technologyprototypes emphasizing maneuver, logistics and force protection capabilities.

“This joint exercise is a necessary testing environmentdesigned to fight the naval force forward,” said Capt. Wesley Sanders, NIWCAtlantic commanding officer. “This event helps ensure NIWC Atlantic engineersand scientists deliver a more resilient and lethal solution to the warfighterby providing on-the-ground technology assessments by our Marine Corpspartners.”

ANTX East is the fourth in a series of exercises designed toidentify capability options for the warfighter aimed at addressing emergingoperational requirements within 12 to 18 months.

“The research anddevelopment work displayed at ANTX East illustrates our capability indelivering advanced technologies that supports technical superiority for theNavy and Marine Corps,” said Sanders.

This event follows the ANTX West exercise held in April,which focused on information warfare, counter intelligence surveillance,reconnaissance and targeting (C-ISRT), and strike capability.

“It has been a joint effort between the Marine Corps, theNavy and the Naval Research and Development establishment to look attechnologies we may be procuring or prototyping in the future,” said Lt. Col.Jim Foley, Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory Ellis Group planning officer.

Both events are part of the multi-year prototyping andexperimentation campaign titled “Fight the Naval Force Forward.”

“During ANTX East, DoD (Department of Defense) and non-DoDorganizations tested and assessed various experimental prototypes duringrealistic military training scenarios,” said Robert Regal, ExpeditionaryWarfare Department chief scientist. “This type of low-risk testing is uniqueand effective because it offered participating organizations real-time feedbackfrom Navy planners and Marine operators on defense-focused technologies.”

The ANTX series uses the Tactics and Technology Explorationand Experimentation (TnTE2) method, developed in 2017, which provides an agileprocess for developers to receive real-time input on technology and rapidlyturn credible concepts into fielded capabilities.

“This method serves to inform our NIWC team on ways toquickly improve and adjust our technology to meet the operational needs of ourwarfighters,” said Regal.

During the week, NIWC Atlantic demoed prototypes focused onlogistics, command and control, strike, and electronic attack and warfare. Afew of the technologies assessed included small-unmanned aerial systems,command and control enhancements and 360-video capabilities captured throughsemi-autonomous systems.

“The two technologies our teams represented at ANTX aresignificant because they leverage our rapid prototyping capabilities – all ofour development was done in house, from the additive manufacturing to theprinting of the electronic circuit boards, and they represent data analyticsand data processing at the tactical edge,” said Dr. Laura Tolliver, NIWCAtlantic scientist.

Following the exercise, teams will take feedback from theassessors and the warfighter and discuss short and long-term goals and ways toincorporate the feedback into future iterations of development.

“Getting out here in the field and being able to test in anoperational environment, seeing our military members and hearing how they usetheir technology and understanding the risks they take to protect us reallyprovides us perspective on how important our mission is and also develop betterproducts,” said Tolliver.

Exercise planners designed the multi-organization effort toserve as a collaborative learning environment where industry, DoD and academicpartners connected and leveraged unique innovation expertise for possible rapidacquisition.

“Collaboration is a foundational principle for the work thatNIWC Atlantic performs every day,” said Pete Reddy, NIWC Atlantic actingexecutive director. “The partnerships and teamwork formed with the MarineCorps, Navy, industry and academia during this ANTX are vital to ourinformation warfare mission.”