The Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance was the keynote speaker during a luncheon Feb. 3 at the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) West 2010 conference and exposition.
Vice Adm. David J. Dorsett addressed three specific topics during his speech: explaining what information dominance is; introducing a new plan for the Navy to achieve and maintain information dominance; and revealing opportunities for industry to partner with the Navy while moving into the future.
“Under the leadership of our CNO, the Navy is moving, with all deliberate speed, into the information age,” Dorsett said. “We’re not being shy as we pursue momentous improvements in our organization, our information technologies, our unmanned capabilities, and our people. Our goal is unambiguous. We intend to accelerate our competitive advantages in the information domain.”
In order to achieve those advantages, the Navy is creating what Dorsett called “mission-based road maps” for various areas in the field of information technology. The road maps include: undersea dominance; maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; maritime ballistic command and control; improved maritime domain awareness; unmanned systems; the Navy's role in cyber offense and defense; fire control; integrated sensors; and command and control at the tip of the bow.
“We’re going to use these road maps to synchronize our activities, and we’re going to use them to find solutions to our most challenging problems,” said Dorsett.
The Navy will hold two classified forums later this year – one in June and another in September – where they will share the road maps with industry partners, Dorsett said. The first forum is designed for the Navy to share what it requires in regard to individual road maps; the second will allow industry to respond with their own ideas and solutions.
“We’ll share our concepts, our architecture, our challenges, our aspirations, and details of our long-term game plan for achieving information dominance,” Dorsett added.
West 2010 is co-sponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute and AFCEA International. The expo and conference is the largest event on the West Coast that puts communications, technology, military and industry leaders under one roof. The three-day event is expected to draw more than 13,000 attendees this year.
