On Leadership Force of the Future By RDML Eric C. Ruttenberg, USN (NAVWAR CHENG)

"On Leadership” is a feature column in which Rotary Wing Flag Officers are able to submit articles on leadership topics of their choosing. On Leadership - Force of the Future

By RDML Eric C. Ruttenberg, USN NAVWAR CHENG

This year’s NHA Symposium focused on the Force of the Future. There is no better time than now to define what the future of the Aviation Enterprise needs to be, and how Future Vertical Lift (FVL) capabilities enable our Naval Forces to maintain our competitive advantage and win in a high-end fight. With the October 2021 release of SECNAV’s Strategic Guidance, our north star continues to be aligned with our TriService Maritime Strategy, the CNO’s Navigation Plan, and the CMC’s Planning Guidance.

As VADM Ken Whitesell (CNAF) and VADM Jeff Hughes (OPNAV N7) stated, the rotary mission isn’t going away. In fact, FVL will continue to play a significant role in the shaping and utilization of our assets to maintain maritime superiority. Additionally, RDML Max McCoy (NAWDC) has requested enduring support from the helicopter community in order to support further development of the Air Wing’s expeditionary mission. The Rotary Community has been the leading force behind integrating unmanned capabilities and plays a critical role in in connecting sensors, shooters, and enabling Command and Control (C2). The right mix of manned and unmanned will continue to evolve over the next several years as we evaluate capability, capacity, and affordability. The importance of extending the field of view or scouting will remain critical to understanding the adversary’s intentions as well as the location of their fleet of fishing vessels and AGIs as part of their intelligence network collection. Future Manned-Unmanned Teaming will need to happen at scale and must focus on Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) scenarios where we are able to couple and decouple controlled and autonomously controlled unmanned systems (UxS). The use of MQ-8 Firescout and future unmanned vehicles will not only provide us important indications and warnings, but will also extend the range of our offensive cyber capabilities in support of Carrier and Expeditionary Strike Groups conducting Distributed Maritime Operations. These capabilities will support the appropriate tactics that will enable our ability to operate in contested environments.

Fleet and Global Exercises have demonstrated that today’s fight begins with information superiority and that our cross-domain Warfare Tactics Instructors (WTI) must shape tactics to insure we maintain this superiority, while denying the adversary of the same. Admiral Hayward wrote in the first edition of Fleet Tactics and Naval Operations that “tactical elements must fight as a cohesive team… and that the future will include land and space-based assets.”1 In the Third Edition, Captain Wayne Hughes (Ret.) collaborated with RADM Robert Girrier (Ret.) and other authors and addressed how information and now decision superiority are enabled when the naval networks connect ashore, afloat, and disaggregated forces, increasing the rate of decision making while degrading the adversaries' ability to make decisions.2 In recent months, we have seen senior leaders across the DoD and DON prioritize our “ability to sense, make sense, and act” as an imperative to winning the fight in Strategic Competition.

Limited resources across the Aviation Enterprise and the modernization of our Strategic Deterrent Force have made it a challenge to modernize our Vertical Lift capability and keep pace with the advancement of technology. Both commercial and Warfare Center focused technology are outpacing our ability to integrate new technology onto current platforms. One element of the modernization is in our communication capabilities. Our ability to have resilient and redundant communications will depend on the success of Project Overmatch. Overmatch will provide the Fleet with the ability to aggregate data, move data anywhere, and enable data driven decisions regardless of the networks or bandwidth available. This system of system approach and highly reliable communications will enable the seamless integration of manned and unmanned platforms, ensuring Next Generation Air Dominance.

As a continuous learning force, we are investing in warfighters so that we can prepare for future Fleet integration and better understand the impact that current technology brings to future tactics. Advances in technology over the last several decades have affected every aspect of naval warfare. As technology continues to influence strategy and Fleet tactics, our success in the future will be based on our most critical asset, our people. Force Development (Fd) and Force Generation (Fg) will require War Gaming, Fleet Experimentation, and constant improvement across our Aviation Enterprise. Carefully orchestrating opportunities across production, Joint, Navy Staff, and education tours and valuing the diversity of career paths will be critical to shaping our Rotary Force of the future.

We are a maritime nation, dedicated to maintaining free and open sea lines and maritime order based on international law. With more than seventy percent of the world’s commerce transiting over the sea, the United States and partner nations are charged with maintaining free and open use of the maritime environment. Our Rotary Force today, our Future Vertical Lift capability, and the integration of manned and unmanned capabilities will play a critical role in delivering free and open commerce to support our global economy. Our community is ready for the fight tonight. With increased vigilance on the fight tomorrow, I encourage all of you to continue learning, lead and engage our Sailors, and win at everything you do.

Notes

1 Wayne P. Hughes and Robert Girrier, “Fleet Tactics and Naval Operations,” Annapolis: Naval Institure Press, 2018), xxv-xxvi 2 ibid., 257-258