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Data Fusion Center in Frontier Sentinel Affirms Naval Oceanography's Mine Warfare Role

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100628-17
6/28/2010

By George Lammons, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command Public Affairs

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. (NNS) -- Naval Oceanography proved the concept of centralized data fusion in mine warfare operations at Frontier Sentinel '10 Homeland Defense mine warfare exercise in Norfolk June 4-11.

During the exercise, a team of professionals from the Naval Oceanography Mine Warfare Center (NOMWC) and the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) processed a majority of the data that was collected in the exercise, fused and conducted quality analysis on all of the mine-like contacts, and recommended which contacts required diver identification. Through these steps and the process known as change detection, of comparing the surveys with older surveys, the data fusion center was able to reduce by 57 percent the number of mine-like objects that the various data collection systems located. That amounted to 218 hours in saved time and the data fusion center accomplished its work in less time than required for collecting the data itself.

"It was a game-changer for mine warfare, and Naval Oceanography's role in it," said Cmdr. Matthew Borbash, NOMWC commanding officer.

The fusion center controlled the contact picture for the entire exercise, covering about 38 miles and more than 400 contacts.

"We've never operated at this level before. The consolidated Data Fusion Center was a home run for NOMWC and NAVO and brought the full force of Naval Oceanography in support of decision superiority for the warfighter" said Lt. Cmdr. Scott Parker, NOMWC's Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) Platoon department head, whose squad also operated 14 unmanned underwater vehicles, from multiple organizations, collecting data.

And thanks to upgraded software developed by the Naval Research Laboratory at Stennis Space Center, Miss., the data fusion and analysis required less time than the data collection. In the past, analysis required on average, four times as long as data collection, so if the data collection took six hours, the after mission analysis took 24. With the new system, the time required is 0.7 as much.

"That's a first," Parker said. Exercise observers called the data fusion cell a force multiplier.

"We took the grand stage while we were there. I think we established the Navy standard for [mine warfare] exercise support," Parker said.

The keys to success were teamwork and preparation. He said NOMWC and NAVOCEANO had been planning for the event since February. They set up and operated a trial data fusion cell at NAVOCEANO to work out all of the technical issues before the exercise.

"Preparation was well above anything we had done before and the teamwork made everything effective. NAVOCEANO really made the fusion cell happen," Parker said.

Capt. Paul Oosterling, director of operations for Undersea Warfare at the Naval Oceanography Operations Command, said elements of the NOMWC and NAVOCEANO group went to San Diego to do some pre-exercise planning with the Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command and Explosive Ordnance Disposal groups.

Oosterling said they could not have performed the data fusion work without NAVOCEANO. "They were spectacular."