July 10, 2018 | International, Naval

Has the US Navy thought this new frigate through? New report raises questions.

WASHINGTON ― The U.S. Navy is rapidly moving toward procuring the first hull in its new class of frigate in 2020, but a new report is raising questions about whether the Navy has done detailed analysis about what it needs out of the ship before barging ahead.

The Navy may not have done an adequate job of analyzing gaps and capabilities shortfalls before it set itself on a fast-track to buying the so-called FFG(X) as an adaptation from a parent design, said influential Navy analyst Ron O'Rourke in a new Congressional Research Service report.

In essence, the CRS report questions whether the Navy looked at what capabilities the service already has in the fleet, what capabilities it's missing and whether the FFG(X) is the optimal solution to address any identified shortfalls.

O'Rourke suggests Congress push the Navy on “whether procuring a new class of FFGs is the best or most promising general approach for addressing the identified capability gaps and mission needs, and whether the Navy has performed a formal, rigorous analysis of this issue, as opposed to relying solely on subjective judgments of Navy or [Defense Department] leaders.”

““Subjective judgments, though helpful, can overlook counter-intuitive results regarding the best or most promising general approach,” the report reads. “Potential alternative general approaches for addressing identified capability gaps and mission needs in this instance include (to cite a few possibilities) modified LCSs, FFs, destroyers, aircraft, unmanned vehicles, or some combination of these platforms.”

The Navy is looking to adapt its FFG(X) from an existing design such as Fincantieri's FREMM, one of the two existing littoral combat ships or the Coast Guard's national security cutter as a means of getting updated capabilities into a small surface combatant and into the fleet quickly.

A better approach, O'Rourke suggests, would be to make a formal, rigorous analysis of alternatives to its current course. Failure to do so has led to a series of setbacks with the Navy's current small surface combatant program, the LCS.

“The Navy did not perform a formal, rigorous analysis of this kind prior to announcing the start of the LCS program in November 2001, and this can be viewed as a root cause of much of the debate and controversy that attended the LCS program, and of the program's ultimate restructurings in February 2014 and December 2015,” O'Rourke writes.

O'Rourke further suggests the Navy is relying too much on subjective opinions of Navy and Defense Department leaders, instead of a legitimate analysis. And indeed, the Navy has made rapid acquisition of the new ship the hallmark of the program.

“Subjective judgments can be helpful, particularly in terms of capturing knowledge and experience that is not easily reduced to numbers, in taking advantage of the ‘wisdom of the crowd,‘ and in coming to conclusions and making decisions quickly,” O'Rourke argues.

“On the other hand, a process that relies heavily on subjective judgments can be vulnerable to group-think, can overlook counter-intuitive results regarding capability gaps and mission needs, and, depending on the leaders involved, can emphasize those leaders' understanding of the Navy's needs.”

Read the full report here.

https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2018/07/09/has-the-us-navy-thought-this-new-frigate-through-new-report-raises-questions/

On the same subject

January 16, 2020 | International, Naval

L3Harris to deliver Iver4 underwater drone to Navy
By: Chiara Vercellone WASHINGTON — The Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit has selected L3Harris Technologies to provide the Navy with an underwater drone for use in expeditionary undersea missions, according to a Jan. 14 news release from the company. As part of the contract, L3Harris will deliver for testing an Iver4-900 PW unmanned undersea vehicle, as well as two field swappable modular payload sections, which, along with additional sensors, will allow the vehicle to detect, classify, localize and identify targets on the ocean floor, the release said. An earlier version of the drone was already sent to the Navy, but under this contract, the company will deliver a version modified to fit the Navy's requirements, a company spokeswoman told Defense News. She would not share the value of the contract. “The Iver4 is leading the next generation of small class UUVs,” said Daryl Slocum, vice president of unmanned maritime systems at L3Harris Technologies. “This platform has been custom-built to address the needs of the Expeditionary Mine Countermeasures and Explosive Ordnance Disposal communities.” The contract award comes as the Navy seeks to bolster its unmanned inventory. Congress recently approved the purchase of two large unmanned surface vessels for the service. In 2019, L3Harris received a contract from the University of Southern Mississippi for an older version of the underwater drone to be used by the university's school of ocean science and engineering. https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2020/01/15/l3harris-to-deliver-iver4-underwater-drone-to-us-navy
October 3, 2018 | International, Naval

Naval Group: Talks with Australia still underway for sub buy
By: Pierre Tran PARIS — Naval Group, a French shipbuilder, sought to play down media reports of a potential collapse of talks for a major contract with Australia for 12 ocean-going submarines, with elections looming next year in the Commonwealth nation. “We are in the process of pursuing the strategic partnering agreement,” a Naval Group spokesman told Defense News. That agreement covers some 30 years and is an extremely close commitment, he added. “It is plain logic that that takes time,” he said. “We are not particularly worried. We remain confident." Naval Group is working under a 2016 design and mobilization contract on the Australian future submarine program, while negotiating the strategic partnering agreement. The latter is a critical contract which moves the French company closer to building the diesel-electric boats in Adelaide under an Australian $50 billion (U.S. $36 billion) deal. There is concern that failure to reach consensus on intellectual property and warranty conditions have held up a signing of the strategic partnering agreement, with time running out, Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. “Negotiations on that document have stalled and it is feared they may not be resolved before next year's federal election,” ABC reported. Signing the strategic partnering agreement by the end of this year is needed to allow detailed design contracts to be finalized and building of the boats, the broadcaster reported. In Australia, Defense Minister Christopher Pyne sought to calm the waters with an Oct. 1 reply on social media. “There is no delay to the delivery of 12 Future Submarines. Negotiation of strategic partnering agreement is continuing & we will ensure we end up with an equitable & enduring agreement to deliver the capability our servicemen & women need, and get the best deal for Australian taxpayer.” Nigel Pittaway in Melbourne, Australia contributed to this report. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/euronaval/2018/10/02/naval-group-talks-with-australia-still-underway-for-sub-buy
March 10, 2020 | International, C4ISR, Security

The Pentagon’s first class of cybersecurity auditors is almost here
Mark Pomerleau The Pentagon hopes to have the first class of auditors to evaluate contractors' cybersecurity ready by April, a top Department of Defense official said March 5. The auditors will be responsible for certifying companies under the new Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), which is a tiered cybersecurity framework that grades companies on a scale of one to five. A score of one designates basic hygiene and a five represents advanced hygiene. Currently, there are no auditors — known as Certified Third-Party Assessment Organizations (C3PAO) — as the accreditation board came about officially in January. “Our goal is to have, in late April, our pilot pathfinder on the training for the C3PAOs,” Katie Arrington, chief information security officer for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, said at an event hosted by DreamPort in Columbia, Maryland. The accreditation board is working on training the auditors and the accompanying training materials Arrington said just because there aren't any auditors already working doesn't mean companies shouldn't be getting ready. “You've got to get prepared for the audit,” she said. “You should be able to say ‘I think I've done my self assessment, I think I'm at this CMMC level.' Waiting for the audit to come in and then decide to get good or to get on track is not the way I would position my business.” If all goes according to plan, all new contracts in 2025 will feature the security requirements. Arrington also suggested that the framework has received interest outside the DoD. “Do I think that other federal agencies are getting on board? Yes they are. They're waiting for me to get through my pathfinder,” she said. She also referred to comments made by Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord, who explained nearly a dozen nations and international organizations are interested in adopting CMMC. https://www.fifthdomain.com/dod/2020/03/09/the-pentagons-first-class-of-cybersecurity-auditors-is-almost-here/

All news