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Rhode Islands Hosts “Defense & Oceans Day”

05/29/2009

To advance UUVs, the time has come to “stop creating a new UUV, and start standardizing a system on which to build,” said Donald F. McCormack, Technical Director, Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC).

On Friday, May 22, 2009, subsea and ocean industry leaders gathered on the CCRI Newport Campus in Newport, Rhode Island for the fourth annual “Rhode Island Defense & Oceans Day,” a forum for industry leaders to voice expert insights on the emerging trends and future direction for the subsea and ocean industries, a critical component of the vibrant Rhode Island economy.
Entitled “Visions for the Next Decade,” the event featured a number of VIP speakers from across the political, academic, military and commercial sectors, including a recorded greeting and introduction from Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), and live presentations from Mike Saul, Executive Director, Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC); RADM Phil Wisecup, President, Naval War College; Dr. Robert Ballard, URI Center for Ocean Exploration and Archeological Oceanography; and Donald McCormack, Technical Director, Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC).
“Harnessing Narragansett Bay’s potential for economic growth is a continual challenge for Rhode Island. Bay and Ocean resources are key to growing the Rhode Island economy,” said Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), via a recorded video greeting.
The economic impact of ocean business in Rhode Island is ubiquitous, and the defense sector alone accounts for more than 16,000 jobs and $1.75 billion, according to Mike Saul, Executive Director, Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC).
Newport is, of course, the epicenter of the navy presence in Rhode Island, and the Naval War College, which this year celebrates its 125th anniversary, is a center of naval thought and education globally, or, as RADM James “Phil” Wisecup calls it, “where the chiefs of navies come to learn.”
The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) HQ is another jewel in Rhode Island’s crown of ocean technologies, and Donald F. McCormack, Technical Director, was on hand to discuss, among other topics, the coming of age of UUVs and the advancement of Underwater Distributed Networked Systems (UDNS). Distributed networked sensors are the key for future subsea defense and warfare, McCormack noted, saying the satellite systems are increasingly vulnerable to attack. While he admitted that there have been many stops and starts on the development of UUVs, saying that UUVs today are essentially where UAVs were in 1995, McCormack said that the CNO continues to push for unmanned vehicles, and that the Navy Irregular Warfare Office is using UUVs today. He said the key to moving forward is to “stop creating a new UUV, and start standardizing a system on which to build.”
While the naval presence is significant in Rhode Island, it far from defines the state’s commitment to the world’s water. Dr. Robert Ballard, URI Center for Ocean Exploration and Archeological Oceanography, has a long and distinguished career, with his latest venture – the christening of URI’s InnerSpace Center – scheduled for June 1. The InnerSpace Center is arguably one of the most critical developments in the study of the world’s oceans – in essence allowing for ‘electronic travel’ – as it provides a consistent presence and study of the oceans sans the need to physically be at sea, which a long way from the early days of subsea study.