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2800 words - 25 minsRemarks by the Honorable Ray MabusSecretary of the NavyUnmanned Systems Defense27 October 2015Thank you, John (Mr. John Burke, Chairman of the Board, AUVSI). And thank you to AUVSI for putting together this event, designed to stimulate conversation and collaboration in an area of study rapidly moving to the forefront of technological development- unmanned systems. As we look to the future, unmanned systems are and will continue to be a complex and vital area of our military. I know many of you have spent countless hours researching, developing, testing and operating incredible platforms that have made the Navy and Marine Corps what we are today: the most formidable expeditionary force the world has ever known.There is no question that now, more than ever- with 90 percent of global trade traveling by sea, 95% of all voice and data being transferred under the ocean and more than 80 percent of the world’s population living within 60 miles of the sea- we are living in a maritime century. And in this maritime century, what the Navy and Marine Corps uniquely provide is presence, around the globe, around the clock – ensuring stability, deterring adversaries, and providing the nation’s leaders with options in times of crisis. We are “America’s away team” because of the ability of Sailors and Marines, equally in times of peace and war, not only to be in the right place at the right time, but in the right place all the time. We get on station faster, we stay longer, we bring whatever we need with us, and we act without having to ask permission, because wherever we are, worldwide, we can operate from sovereign U.S. territory, our ships.Our ability to provide that presence is built on four fundamentals: People, our Sailors and Marines; Platforms, numbers of ships and aircraft; Power, how we fuel those platforms; and Partnerships, our strong relationships with industry, international friends and allies, and the American people.The superiority – in technology and concepts – the Navy and Marine Corps have on, over, under and coming from the sea are no accident. They are the result of more than two centuries of collaboration and experimentation among people in and out of uniform, in government and industry, redefining what is possible. In so many cases, we have taken seemingly impossible ideas and made them real. Whether it is technology like Admiral Hopper’s pioneering the use of computers, conceptual revolutions like carrier aviation and the Marines’ development of amphibious warfare, or the seemingly impossible science of harnessing nuclear power for propulsion, innovation is a part of our tradition and has been the trademark of our maritime superiority.Our modern world is defined by information sharing. The increasing pace, with which technology is developed, employed, then changed and developed anew, drives everything we do. Technology is no longer available just to the few—to governments and nations—but to everyone. Our adversaries can be nations, or not, and can appear at the speed of connectivity. They can adapt and employ technology as fast as the commercial world develops it. They are often unburdened by policies and processes. The world is getting faster, more nimble and is changing exponentially—the world that, too often, is with the exception of the United States military. If we do not free ourselves from the ever expanding, ever tightening coils of bureaucracy, if we do not set the pace on adopting change, if we continue to think and do in the same ways we have for so long, then our days as the world’s pre-eminent maritime force are surely numbered—and that number is small and shrinking. A few months ago, at the Sea-Air-Space symposium, I gave a speech about innovation. I spoke about harnessing a creative energy that resides in the minds of the talented men and women that make up the Department of the Navy. I spoke about removing barriers and assuming more risk. One of the five areas of focus of that speech was accelerating new capabilities to the Fleet, which is why I’m here speaking to you today. In that speech, I announced the creation of a new Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Unmanned Systems, as well as a new directorate on the OPNAV staff, N99, also for unmanned systems. The change to the organization is a reflection of the priority we’re placing on this emerging capability, and how critical it is that there is centralized leadership for our unmanned programs.Today, I’m happy to announce I’ve named Retired Brigadier General Frank Kelley to be my DASN for Unmanned Systems. General Kelley’s superb operational experience as a U.S. Marine, as well as his professional expertise in the field of electronic warfare and unmanned technology make him perfectly qualified to lead this new enterprise in the Department of the Navy, and I look forward to the great work he and his team will be spearheading.On the OPNAV staff, I’ve also named Rear Admiral Robert Girrier to head up the new N99 shop as the Director for Unmanned Warfare Systems, where he will be responsible for the rapid development, prototyping and demonstration of our Navy’s unmanned warfare systems. Unmanned systems are the platforms of the future. What was once the stuff of science fiction movies is now infiltrating the world around us. Your grandchildren may never drive a car because driverless cars may be the norm in 15-20 years. Many of you have probably seen or possibly even own the robot vacuum cleaner that zooms around your house, sucking up dust while you’re away at work. I’ve even heard you can now hire a drone to take photos at your wedding! And we’re not even talking about the military. This technology is being developed swiftly in the commercial world around us, both for good and of course, with more nefarious intentions, by our adversaries. We absolutely cannot afford to lose in this realm.Unmanned systems are inherently different from their manned counterparts. Policies and procedures designed to ensure safety of manned systems must not be allowed to impede the design, development, deployment, testing and evaluation of unmanned systems. We must continue to be leaders in this emerging capability.I say continue because, though we’re changing the way we’re organizing unmanned systems, our development of the technology is anything but. Throughout our history, we have always asked ourselves how we can improve our operations, make them safer, more efficient, and unmanned technology is no exception. Our Firescout and Scan Eagle platforms were used during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom from multiple ground and sea-based platforms, and unmanned underwater vehicles were actively used in the search for missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. In May, the Virginia-class nuclear-powered fast attack submarine USS North Dakota (SSN-784) conducted the first real-world operations deploying and operating with unmanned undersea vehicles. Unmanned systems have often been described as the answer to dull, dirty or dangerous jobs, where the nature of humanity can be a limiting factor. For example, by removing the need for environmental control systems, things such as onboard oxygen generation and g-force limitations, we can develop more combat-capable platforms that are uninhibited by human vulnerabilities. Endurance is another important advantage unmanned technology brings to the fight; our UUV’s are able to stay out for months at a time, allowing them to observe large areas for prolonged periods of time without interruption or degradation. In the realm of explosive ordinance disposal and mine countermeasure, these systems have proven to be extremely capable, while significantly lowering the risk to human life. And finally, these platforms can also be outfitted with both defensive and offensive strike capabilities. They may even be designed to be expendable, allowing them to penetrate into particularly hostile environments where we don’t want to unnecessarily risk a human life. My goal in creating the DASN for Unmanned Systems was to streamline our current programs and drive a strategy for development that is deliberate and thoughtful. Currently, our various communities- air, sea, undersea and ground- are all doing incredible work on their unmanned systems and integrating them into the existing architecture within their own framework, but as this technology becomes more complex and widespread, ensuring we have a cohesive management function is critical to maintaining our superiority across all domains, and possibly even multiple domains.In the aviation community, the Fire Scout has already been deployed in land-based combat in Afghanistan and at sea onboard an LCS, providing continuous ISR support to commanders, and the first flight of the C variant has already been involved in dynamic interface testing on USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109). Two KMAX unmanned helicopters were deployed to Afghanistan with the Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron, and delivered 6,000 pounds of cargo per day, keeping trucks off the road, and most importantly, saving lives. The unmanned aircraft system, Blackjack, will deploy for the first time with an ARG or MEU aboard San Antonio-class ships beginning in FY16, where it will provide both the ARG ships and the embarked MAGTF with an organic ISR capability that can transition from afloat to land-based operations.Over the past three years, we have watched the X-47B complete the first successful catapult launch and arrested landing of an unmanned aircraft onboard a carrier. And just a few months ago, the X-47B successfully conducted the first ever Autonomous Aerial Refueling (AAR), a complicated and difficult skill for anyone. It’s a tribute to the hard work, ingenuity and teamwork of everyone involved in this program what an enormous success it has been. The testing done with this platform is laying the foundation for the UCLASS, and in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act, Congress recognized the immense potential here and specifically laid out guidance to develop a penetrating air-refuel-able unmanned carrier-launched aircraft capable of performing a broad range of missions in a non-permissive environment. And they specifically recognized this as a Navy-capability, stating that the U.S. would derive substantial strategic and operational benefits from operating these aircraft from a mobile sea base that is self-deployable and not subject to the caveats of a host nation. Another incredible platform we’re developing is the Triton. The Triton is the Navy’s version of the Air Force’s Global Hawk, built and designed specifically for maritime surveillance. Triton just completed her first sensor flight in April. The maritime search radar on Triton will give us a 360-degree view of a very large geographic area in all weather, with the ability to expedite detecting, classifying, tracking and identifying points of interest. Triton will work with our P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to dramatically enhance our maritime domain awareness.Similarly, the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance-Demonstrator, or "BAMS-D," has been operating since January of 2009 providing intelligence to the warfighter in NAVCENT. BAMS-D was envisioned as a 6-month demonstration, but has proven so valuable that it now in its 6th year of deployment. As of this month, it has flown over 17,000 flight hours in support of NAVCENT and CENTCOM.You heard me state previously that the F-35 should be, and almost certainly will be, the last manned strike fighter aircraft the Department of the Navy will ever buy or fly. F/A-XX will serve as our next generation air superiority fighter, replacing the capabilities lost when the Super Hornet and Growler sundown. The Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Family of Systems with F/A-XX will have unmanned components, heavily-networked platforms, sensors and weapons. Information will be shared across surface, subsurface and joint air assets. The F/A-XX will soon be studied in an Analysis of Alternatives and it is slated to begin operations during the 2030s. So for those interested in the next generation of Naval Aviation, the future is exciting- a future that continues the trend of replacing stick and rudder skills with complex systems management. Researchers at the Officer of Naval Research made major breakthroughs with the LOCUST project (Low-Cost UAV Swarming Technology) last summer. They developed the CARACaS technology (Control Architecture for Robotic Agent Command and Sensing), that allows unmanned boats to operate autonomously and in-sync with other unmanned boats and choose their own routes to “swarm” around a target. We’ve since been able to demonstrate these boats escorting a high-value Navy ship, and then later detect and swarm a simulated enemy vessel. The Consortium for Robotics and Unmanned Systems Education and Research, or CRUSER, program I implemented in 2011 is primarily housed at the Naval Postgraduate School, where students and faculty of the Advanced Robotic Systems Engineering Laboratory, ARSENL, have done some truly great work in swarming. They recently demonstrated the successful autonomous flight of 50 UAV’s simultaneously, where the UAV’s were able to cooperate with one another and exchange information among themselves via wireless links. This work will continue to inform the LOCUST project, which will execute a ship-based demonstration with 30 of these rapidly launched UAVs to form a tactical SWARM in 2016. In the undersea domain, we used the Large Displacement Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (LDUUV) to develop and demonstrate technologies needed for increased sub-surface endurance and autonomy. These systems are affordable and rapidly deployable worldwide. They’ve already been operational and served as critical enablers and game-changers for mine-hunting missions, such as those that will be conducted aboard LCS. We plan to deploy LD UUV’s from an exclusively UUV squadron on an independent mission by 2020. The Naval Oceanographic Office has been operationally using unmanned vehicles as part of their Littoral Battlespace Sensing program which consists of Ocean Gliders and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. These vehicles are being used globally to provide persistent collection of oceanographic properties to update and improve ocean models and to support tactical decision aids.On the ground, Advanced EOD Robotic Systems are being employed to respond to unexploded ordnance and counter improvised explosive devises and weapons of mass destruction. The systems can be used in both peace and wartime operations, and come in smaller, dismounted sizes, as well as medium and larger sizes for vehicles and bases. They can provide autonomous navigation and object manipulation, lowering the risk of life to Marines and EOD technicians in the dangerous task of searching for and diffusing potential weapons. Our goal is to field an entire integrated family of robotic systems to augment our MAGTF capabilities by 2020. Hopefully you’re starting to hear a trend here. Across our communities, this technology is being developed, tested and deployed in support of our Sailors and Marines, making their jobs easier, more efficient, and safer all while making our entire team more combat effective And we’re continuing to prioritize getting those platforms into the hands our Sailors and Marines. The responsibility of the new DASN will be to create and implement, a strategy for development of this technology that links all domains. With individual communities developing these systems in a stove-piped way, it will be extremely difficult for them to work together as they are assimilated into everyday operations. Industry partners, we want to work with you to establish standards for compatibility. Our unmanned systems will only be truly successful if they are developed with interoperability, modularity and open architecture, to address the complexities of autonomy and the advancement of systems that can operate together across multiple domains. You only have to see the breadth of attendance today to see how critical partnership is to this emerging field. Collaboration between the Naval Postgraduate School, Office of Naval Research and Naval Research Laboratory, as well as among our many prominent industry leaders, is exactly what sparks creativity and fuels innovation at every level. In an increasingly tighter fiscal environment, cost effectiveness will drive this technology, as well as flexibility. Open architecture development with systems that are platform agnostic is a critical piece of ensuring unmanned systems are integrated into all of our platforms, across all domains, as well as our ability to partner with our sister services in support of joint operations. Beyond simply integrating into our current systems, another important partnership this technology must have is the one with our manned platforms. While it may be fun to imagine a SCI-FY, movie-style futuristic robot-army, the truth is these unmanned systems will initially be an augment to our current capabilities. The man-unmanned interface is one that will be the hallmark of this new era of warfighting.We don’t plan on removing the human from the loop, but it may be time to redefine where the human fits into that loop. By streamlining our efforts under one organization, we can start to lay down a path forward for this new interface between manned and unmanned systems.This technology is the way of the future, but as you can see by just looking around you today, the future is already here. As we have always done, we will continue to forge the path and lead the way ahead for the military and the rest of the world in development and use of this incredible new technology across every domain of our operations. So from the Navy, Semper Fortis… Always Courageous.And from the Marine Corps, Semper Fidelis, Always Faithful.Thank You. ................
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