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NUWC Keyport Provides Any Time, Any Place Test, Training and Evaluation Services to the Fleet

NAVSEA News

By NUWC Keyport Division Public Affairs

KEYPORT, Wash. -- Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Keyport recently provided valuable support to Commander, Destroyer Squadron Fifteen, in the multi-ship exercise WESTPAC 2003.

Keyport's array of services and products included MK 46 exercise torpedoes, a portable underwater tracking range, Surface Ship Radiated Noise Measurements (SSRNM) and rapid exercise reconstruction and analysis for their training ops in February.

Funded by Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, the portable range, developed by Keyport Division, instrumented a 16 square mile open ocean range for submarine and weapon underwater tracking as well as Global Positioning Satellite tracking of the surface platforms. A range control station was installed on a Navy vessel that allowed a view of the spatial relationship between all participants.

Laptop computers in the Combat Information Center, the bridge and the Fleet Tactical Center (FLTAC) displayed the exercise participants in real-time. Bridge-to-bridge, clear and secure voice communications were patched into the FLTAC for the real-time range coordination.

SSRNM services were provided to the forward deployed combatants. A portable, over-the-side, acoustic array was used to gather the data that was analyzed in real time. The analysis of this data provided NUWC Keyport with the required information to quantify the ship's vulnerabilities to acoustic detection or threats. Based on the data, NUWC Keyport can recommend maintenance or repair actions that will minimize the ship's acoustic signature, which results in a decrease to the acoustic threat.

Keyport's Visual Interactive System for Training and Analysis (VISTA) provided the forward-deployed forces with a rapid analysis of their training results. The shipboard tracking solution was merged with the portable range "ground truth" data to give an unbiased view of the training exercise. The torpedo in-water performance was analyzed for hit/miss criteria.

With the rapid response provided by NUWC, ships can review their performance in a timely fashion and correct any training issues. Prior to VISTA, it sometimes took up to six months to provide feedback to the Fleet.

With the Fleet's current mission and training schedules, every day underway is important. Keyport's rapid feedback gives our Sailors information they can apply while still on their training mission. With these any time, any place, portable services, NUWC Division Keyport is enhancing Fleet readiness and enabling our Sailors to "train where they will fight."