The Secretary of the Navy last week announced the creation of a new Disruptive Capabilities Office (DCO) aimed at helping push new technology to the fleet more quickly to help solve operational problems and close capability gaps.
“Through rapid experimentation and prototyping, the DCO will work collaboratively with stakeholders from across our department focusing on delivering solutions to our warfighters at a pace and scale to close our Fleet’s most critical capability gaps,” Del Toro said during the Naval Research Laboratory’s (NRL) 100th anniversary ceremony on Sept. 28.
He said the DCO will also work with the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratories Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO). The RCO is already working to improve immediate and near-term Marine needs that “require the rapid transition and integration of new and innovative solutions.”
Del Toro said both the DCO and RCO will now help deliver the Navy’s portion of the new Replicator Initiative, which Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks announced in late August (Defense Daily, Sept. 6).
Replicator aims to have the Pentagon field thousands of attritable autonomous systems over the next two years, without new funding with existing programs that can scale up production. The purpose is to help counter China’s military buildup.
Hicks provided more details on her Replicator vision last month, using the example of potentially solar-powered self-propelled systems afloat with sensors to provide near-real time information to military forces or ground-based systems that can deliver novel logistics support and scout ahead (Defense Daily, Sept. 6).
He said DCO and RCO would partner closely on the Replicator Initiative along with joint efforts like the Defense Innovation Unit “to accelerate production and delivery of the capabilities our Joint Force needs at-scale.”
Separately, during his speech Del Toro also announced the Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems (PEO IWS) is instituting a pilot program to evaluate its mission and operations from a portfolio-level perspective.
Del Toro said this will help the PEO’s examine how they can operate under a new portfolio-centric construct to “increase the rate of capability development and fielding over our present timelines.”
He noted this effort seeks to achieve the increased rate of development and fielding by only using pre-existing authorities.
“The lessons we learn throughout this pilot program will enable all of our PEOs to better address the emerging threats and requirements under their respective purviews,” Del Toro said.
The Navy Secretary connected this work to the new Department of the Navy Science and Technology Board, which was formally established last month (Defense Daily, Sept. 15).
During his speech, Del Toro said the new board will help support the department’s vision by helping identify new technologies for rapid adoption and collaborating with similar groups across government.
Tying all this work to the NRL, the secretary also said he is codifying these efforts by directing the Chief of Naval Research to provide him with a Department of the Navy science and technology strategy within 90 days.
“This strategy will set forth our priorities and our approach as to how we invest our capital — both human and financial — to rapidly identify, develop, and field the capabilities our Sailors and Marines need today, and tomorrow.”