Page 8. MAINE COASTAL NEWS January 2018 U. S. N N


Surface Warfare Experts Innovate for Future Fleet at New Navy I-Lab By John Joyce, NSWC Dahlgren Division Corporate Communications


DAHLGREN, Va. (NNS) -- A new Inno- vation Lab is revolutionizing the Navy’s thinking and collaboration about its future Fleet with events like the Surface Warfare Innovation Workshop, Naval Surface War- fare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) announced Nov. 20. As scientists and engineers explore transformational ideas in the Innovation Lab, or I-Lab - NSWCDD offi cials antic- ipate a surge of technological advances, approaches, and capabilities to further em- power the nation’s warfi ghters to fi ght, win, and return home safely. “The I-Lab is engaging our workforce


and helping to retain talent through chal- lenging collaborations, critical thinking opportunities, and rewarding problem solving for the warfi ghter,” said NSWCDD Technical Director John Fiore. “It is my belief the pursuit of these types of labs will unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of our scientists and engineers to ultimately benefi t our customers - Sailors and Marines keeping our nation secure and hoping to come home to their loved ones safe.” The NSWCDD I-Lab - equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, services, and trained personnel - opened for business over the summer as an intensive collabora- tive environment where NSWCDD experts work to speed up and maximize corporate innovative solutions across the laboratory. “I am very excited about our new I-Lab


that stimulates, promotes, and merges ideas into concepts for analysis, prototyping, ex- perimentation, and transition as needed - but this is only the beginning,” said Fiore. “We have plans to expand our free play environ- ments to include workshops that will allow us to free play with a variety of technologies, machine tools, and 3D printers.” Innovators are using gear that in- cludes mobile networked touch screens


with collaboration ‘Bluescape’ workspace capability, a 3D printer, Surface Pro com- puters, a multi-touch collaboration table, self-contained holographic glasses, mobile glass boards, and unclassifi ed video telecon- ference capability. The I-Lab is reconfi gurable to support


large innovative workshops as well as small- er, more focused events, including classifi ed and unclassifi ed break-out rooms. For exam- ple, NSWCDD and the Naval War College co-sponsored the command’s fi rst Surface Warfare Innovation Workshop, Oct. 17-19. “The workshop was focused on gaining


a foundation for current and future warfi ght- ing concepts and requirements,” said Fiore. “Presentations and panel talks provided the opportunity for our technologists, engineers, and scientists to learn from OPNAV (Chief of Naval Operations staff ) strategic plan- ners, OPNAV surface warfare specialists, and visionaries.” I-LAB INNOVATORS ENVISION RO- BOTICS and QUANTUM COMPUT- ING in FUTURE FLEET


Future world models of military-po-


litical environments, Navy missions, and warfi ghting requirements were featured to stimulate possible technology and function- al solutions. “Solutions ranged from continued em-


ployment of current functional capabilities to the use of autonomy, robotics, quantum computing, and other advances in science that can be installed in Navy ships and as- sets,” said Nelson Mills, I-Lab’s director of innovation. On the event’s fi rst day, fl ag offi cers


and senior government offi cials spoke with 60 NSWCDD experts about surface, air, and undersea warfare. “We gained incredible insights from


over 20 senior leaders on a variety of sur- face warfare topics, challenges, and issues,” said Mills. “Team members were exposed to a new brainstorming thought process. They expanded personal networks, met and worked with incredibly talented people, and


further developed their ability to innovate while engaging with guest speakers and panels.” Four panel sessions were conducted on


surface force strategy, warfi ghter perspec- tives, unmanned systems integration, future fl eet structure, digital warfare advances, emerging capability requirements, future technologies, and possible warfighting futures. Panel members conveyed their ex- perience, concerns, issues, knowledge, and vision for the future of surface warfare. What’s more, the panel discussed Navy


themes related to interoperability, mission planning, enhanced weapons, and an abun- dance of inexpensive deployed unmanned systems in the Fleet. INNOVATORS THROW AWAY THE RULE BOOK to SOLVE FUTURE WARFIGHTING SCENARIOS At one point, Naval War College pro-


fessor Dr. Bundy encouraged workshop participants to “throw away the rule book,” “think out of the box,” “think without a box,” “imagine,” and perhaps most of all “have fun” throughout the workshop. “The workshop enabled Navy leader-


ship to share current and future Fleet con- cerns with our new and mid-career person- nel to develop united, focused, and creative solutions,” said Mills. “Our innovators were invigorated through motivational speakers as we identifi ed, addressed, and overcame impediments along the way.” The participants - mostly civilian


scientists and engineers as well as a few active duty military offi cers - responded by brainstorming about technology that enables functional capabilities, including sensors, networks, command and control, weapons, distributed lethality, and battle management concepts.


They broke up into groups that tackled


a myriad of naval warfi ghting scenarios generated by the Naval War College for the 2020, 2025, and 2030 timeframes. On the fi nal day, the break-out groups presented their culminating concepts to Rear Adm.


Jesse Wilson, Naval Surface Force Atlantic commander. Wilson emphasized the importance of


innovating to the strategic environment and getting new technologies into the hands of Sailors quickly. The next 25 years in the maritime security environment is going to be very diff erent than the last quarter of a century, he told the participants, adding that it’s essential to prepare for changes and challenges while innovating to ensure the Navy is ready today and tomorrow. In all, four teams of NSWCDD sci-


entists and engineers worked with specifi c scenarios, approaches, and solutions by employing the IDEO (innovation, design, engineering, and organization) process while brainstorming to achieve innovative answers, potential prototypes, and integrat- ed kill chain capabilities. A ‘kill chain’ refers to the process of identifying and thwarting threats, typically from reconnaissance, until the threat is eliminated. It also applies to threats in cyberspace and to the electromag- netic spectrum - identifying and eliminating intrusions in the networks. The teams’ four scenarios were: Credi-


ble Combat Power in the Sea Frontier: Pro- tection of the U.S. East Coast, West Coast, and Gulf of Mexico in 2020. Securing the Maritime Commons: Anti-piracy mission off the Horn of Africa in 2025. Maritime Strategic Deterrence: Ballistic Missile Defense type mission with 40 percent of the U.S. Navy being unmanned in 2025. Capstone: Maritime Battle Force: At war in 2030.


Themes comprising autonomy, auto-


mation, artifi cial intelligence, and machine learning were addressed by the teams. At the conclusion of each scenario - as


part of the innovative IDEO framework for the workshop - the teams described their innovative solutions acquired via brainstorming, introduced possibilities along with prototype ideas, and presented a realistic capability solution using a system integration or kill chain approach.


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Coast Guard assists 3 disabled boaters near Sandy Hook Bay, NJ


NEW YORK — A Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook boat crew assisted three boaters who were stranded aboard an 18-foot vessel in Sandy Hook Bay, Friday 17 November. Operators at Tow Boat U.S., a


commercial salvage and towing company, contacted watch-standers at Coast Guard Sector New York at approximately 9:00 a.m., requesting help for three individuals who were experiencing engine problems and did not have a working marine radio. Coast Guard watch-standers issued


a small craft advisory due to the 25-knot wind and 3 to 5-foot sea state. Due to safety concerns, Tow Boat U.S. operators were unable to respond. At 9:08 a.m., watch-standers dis-


patched a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew from Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook to respond to the disabled boat. The boat crew arrived on scene, safely transferred the three boaters off the disabled vessel, and placed the 18-foot vessel in tow. The vessel was safely towed to Atlantic Highlands Marina in New Jersey.


Coast Guard responds to ferry aground near Manhattan


NEW YORK - Coast Guard crews are responding to a ferry aground near the Fi- nancial District in New York City, Monday evening, 27 November. The New York City Ferry, the Ze-


linsky, became stuck after departing Pier 11 along the East River at approximately 5:30 p.m.


The ferry was en route to the Rock-


aways area of Queens when it reportedly became stuck near the pier. A boat crew from Station New


York arrived on scene as New York City Fire Department (FDNY) and New York City Police Department (NYPD) marine units evacuated all 113 passengers safely and placed them aboard one of their rescue boats.


There are no reports of any injuries


or pollution at this time. Pumps are currently being used to dewater the ferry as divers inspect the hull. Coast Guard personnel are on


scene coordinating safe removal of the ves- sel. The Coast Guard is also investigating the cause of the grounding.


Coast Guard conducts out of water inspection on NYC ferry


NEW YORK -- Today the Coast Guard completed an out of water inspection on the ferry Urban Journey, hull number H201, one of 10 New York City commuter ferries in the 200-series fl eet. After completing a detailed inspec-


tion of the vessel’s hull, the Urban Journey was declared safe for continued passenger operations. Underwater hull inspections were conducted on all other vessels in the 200-series fl eet and no structural concerns


were identifi ed. Signifi cant hull corrosion was re-


cently identifi ed on NYC’s 100-series fl eet. As a result, all six 100-series vessels were taken out of service for repairs. Coast Guard marine inspectors are providing ongoing oversight of this repair work. “Our number one priority is passenger safety,” said Capt. Michael Day, commander Coast Guard Sec- tor New York. “We required this inspection in order to be certain the corrosion problems seen on the 100-series fl eet were isolated to that fl eet only. Today’s inspection has confi rmed that.


Coast Guard suspends search for 2 missing fi shermen near Nantucket, Mass.


BOSTON — The Coast Guard suspended its search Tuesday at 8 p.m. for two missing fi shermen near Nantucket, pending the de- velopment of new information 5 December. The fishermen originally went


missing Monday evening after their boat, Misty Blue, sunk approximately 10 miles southeast of Nantucket. Two other crew- members were rescued by a nearby good Samaritan.


The Coast Guard, along with state


and local agencies and good Samaritans searched for 42 asset hours saturating a 1,605 square nautical mile area.


The search included the following


assets: An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod; An HC-144 Ocean


Sentry aircraft from Air Station Cape Cod; A 47-foot Motor Lifeboat from Coast Guard Station Brant Point; Coast Guard Cutter Steelhead, an 87-foot patrol boat; Coast Guard Cutter Tybee, a 110-foot patrol boat; Coast Guard Cutter Albacore, an 87-foot pa- trol boat; Barnstable County Sheriff ; Dennis Fire Department; Massachusetts State Po- lice Dive Team; Fishing vessel Enterprise; and Fishing vessel Mariette. The cause of the sinking is under


investigation.


Coast Guard, port partners respond to container ship breaking free from moor- ing in Boston


BOSTON — The Coast Guard, along with Massport Fire Department, Boston Police Department, Massachusetts State Police and port tugs responded to a containership that broke free from its mooring Wednesday at around 12:45 a.m at the Paul W. Conley Container Terminal in Boston 6 December. Terminal workers who were


aboard the 1,065-foot container ship Helsin- ki Bridge were able to safely disembark, and no injuries or pollution from the container ship were reported. A docking pilot boarded the vessel,


and along with the container ship’s crew, safely escorted the Helsinki Bridge to Broad Sound, where it remains anchored. The Helsinki Bridge was carrying


general cargo. The cause of incident remains under investigation.


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