TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Human Systems

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: Fleet Training Wholeness Continuum (FTWC) and Total Ship’s Training Concept (TSTC)

OBJECTIVE: Develop shore-based capabilities to improve mission warfighter mission readiness against Great Power Competitors (GPC) and to increase warfare proficiency and agility while operating in a degraded and denied environment against GPC.

DESCRIPTION: Currently, the Navy employs large numbers of at sea mentors, assessors, and certifiers, using a “White Cards” technique to inject a description of the degraded or denied effects on command and control (C2) systems. This is done because the actual distributed simulation of the degraded or denied (D2) effects on the at-sea ships and aircraft C2 systems cuts off the two-way communications between the shore distributed training center (DTC) and the mentors, assessors, and certifiers at sea. This “White Card” method of simulation, or lack of actual effects to the C2 systems, provides “Negative Training” and degrades warfighter readiness. Some specific issues that the technologies the Navy is seeking could address include smart/intelligent communication/simulation routing, and communication/simulation compression over existing communication circuits. The additional benefit from these sought technologies might be to daily operational and tactical operations when the Fleet is being challenged by GPC in a real-world command and control, degraded and denied environment (C2D2E).

PHASE I: Create a concept for software/hardware that design an information assured (IA) NSA approved two-way transmission of simulation and mentor information via a single circuit while all other circuits are being degraded and/or denied. Ensure that the D2 environment does not affect the simulation and mentor information path between the simulation distribution site and shore-based replicate at-sea node. The proof of concept should demonstrate a shore site replicating a DTC and a node replicating a shipboard training suite, transmitting simulation and mentor data being passed two-way without any degradation or loss of data. Develop a Phase II plan.

PHASE II: Build and test a usable prototype of the software/hardware to be tested between a shore site replicating a DTC and a ship pierside using actual Navy C2 circuits. Test the prototype in a simulation on the ship that will be of a degraded and denied environment (D2E) that affects major operational/tactical circuits while non-D2 mentor data are transmitted two-ways. The two-way mentor data will not be degraded. The mentor and simulation data will be degraded between “10 to 15 percent”. Naval Simulation Center Pacific (NSCPAC), San Diego, CA with Tactical Training Group Pacific (TTGP) will act as the DTC and a suitable Destroyer will be assigned by the Surface TYCOM Command Naval Surface Forces – Pacific (CNSF) to execute this test.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Refine the prototype as necessary and make the technology available to the Navy. The technology(ies) will be installed at TTGP and onboard an assigned Destroyer at sea during a Live, Virtual, and Constructive (LVC) Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) offshore on the West Coast Tactical Training Range (WCTTR). Use of these technologies will help inform the Navy Fleet Training Program on how to use Operational/Tactical circuits to transport simulation and mentor data while at sea.

Potential commercial uses for securing Commercial/DoD Cloud Storage, improving network data transferring, improving mixed data transmission across low bandwidth networks, strong data security across commercial wireless networks, and real-time reachback support for technicians in the field across low bandwidth networks.

REFERENCES:

1. USFF N72/CPF N7. “Navy Continuous Training Environment (NCTE) Interoperability Standard (NIS) Version 1.2.2.” 20 August 2018. (Uploaded to SITIS on xx/xx/2019)

2. USFF N72/CPF N7. “Fleet Training LVC Concept of Employment (CONEMP).” February 2016. (Uploaded to SITIS on xx/xx/2019)

3. USFF N72/CPF N7.  “LVC Report to Congress.” March 2018. (Uploaded to SITIS on xx/xx/2019)

4. USFF N72/CPF N7. “Fleet Synthetic Training Instruction.” 21 May 2018. (Uploaded to SITIS on xx/xx/2019)

5. USFF N72/CPF N7. “LVC Executive Agent (EA) Letter from the CNO.” February 2017. (Uploaded to SITIS on xx/xx/2019)

6. “Fleet Training Wholeness Strategy (FTWS).” 18 October 2018. (Uploaded to SITIS on xx/xx/2019)

KEYWORDS: Live; Virtual and Constructive (LVC); Fleet Synthetic Training (FST); Fleet Synthetic Training (FST) at Sea (FAS); Navy Training