NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Rear Adm. Gene Price, Vice Commander of Naval Information Forces, called the Navy’s information warfare enterprise a “victim” of its own success as it seeks to expand its information warfare commander afloat concept while still facing challenges with artificial intelligence and training capabilities.
The Navy is expanding its information warfare commander afloat concept that has been used with strike groups to amphibious readiness groups, Price said on Aug. 2 during the Navy League’s 2021 Sea Air Space expo here.
“It has been so successful that we’re actually, happily, a victim of our own success,” Price said. “We’re not only using information warfare commander afloat concept with every single strike group, we’re now being told we have to extend that out to the amphibious readiness group so they can have the same process available.”
The information warfare commander afloat concept was developed to integrate different threads of information together in a lucid, integrated, informed manner, Price said.
While this effort has been very successful, there are still some areas that need improvement. Price said the Navy is still having problems with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
“AI/ML is one of the most intractable problems I think we have,” Price said. “It’s a data problem. It’s a platform problem. It’s a management problem.”
Price said the Navy is also looking to make improvements on live virtual constructive training (LVC). The Navy realized that information warfare enables everything so the LVC will allow training in a controlled environment.
“Everything just kind of comes together at a striker level, and yet, if we go out and practice these things, we tip our hand to how we want to do them,” Price said. “It made it readily apparent to information warfare that we had to have a way to train for the high end fight…without tipping off too much.”
These trainers will be the way to train information warfare capabilities, Price said. Naval Information Warfare System Command (NAVWAR) is putting together a cross-functional team with Navy Information Forces and Navy Information Warfighting Development Command to set requirements for the content of the LVC.