by Capt. Ken Perry Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class James Pinsky
Commander Submarine Force (SUBFOR) and the Undersea Enterprise are recognized as Navy leaders in harnessing commercial technology and open architecture for improved mission capability. The latest Sonar and Combat Control systems deliver real gains in display quality, faster processing, and better integrated tactical pictures. As Capt. Jim Stevens emphasizes in his article in this edition of UNDERSEA WARFARE Magazine, keeping pace with technology is smart for the warfighter and a smart use of resources. Keeping pace with technology is an operational imperative: we need the world’s most advanced capabilities to deal with the world’s biggest set of Submarine Force missions, in the world’s most global undersea operations, against arguably history’s broadest range of threats. But the true measure of advanced processing build’s (APB) success is not how much capability we build into a new sonar or combat system, it’s how much capability our crews get out of the new systems. Keeping pace with technology makes good operational and programmatic sense, but it also poses big challenges for submarine crews who must build and re-build operational proficiency on new systems. To ensure our crews are fully supported in understanding and employing their new systems, partners throughout the Undersea Enterprise must work together to deliver ready equipment, clear documentation, sound employment guidance, and effective training for every tactical system installation. Systems must be adequately tested to ensure they meet performance criteria and are technically compatible with existing ship systems before they are installed on fleet boats. System employment manuals, integrated electronic technical manuals, and other doctrine must be adequate in scope to address new system concepts, tailored for fleet sailors, and delivered in time to support crew training before the new system is scheduled to be employed at sea. Finally, training resources—including time—must be fully ready to support new systems so that the crew can train effectively. Submariners lead the fleet in understanding and employing advanced technologies. Every commanding officer (CO) returning from a successful mission credits a measure of his crew’s effectiveness to the enhanced capabilities made possible by well designed new gear. But the fleet has also voiced concerns about the APB process. Reliability of new processors; interface issues between new tactical equipment and existing ship systems; unclear or incomplete employment guidance or technical documentation; and lack of training support for newly installed gear are some of the gaps that keep crews from realizing the full capabilities of new hardware or a new program build. For some tactical system modernizations in recent years, the ship and crew have paid a big part of the “bill” to make the new installs work the way they were designed.
Keeping Doctrine on Pace with Technology: System
—Capt. Ken Perry
Commodore, Submarine Development Squadron TWELVE 10
S P R I N G 2 0 0 8 U N D E R S E A WA R F A R E
(Above) Contact management displays on USS Virginia (SSN-774)
