WASHINGTON — Navy Secretary John Phelan is establishing several new Navy billets and corresponding offices to oversee the service’s portfolio of robotic and autonomous systems, and is pausing associated contracting activity in the meantime, according to a memo obtained by Breaking Defense.
Phelan’s memorandum, dated Sept. 3, establishes a deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for “robotic and autonomous systems” (RAS) as well as an eponymous program executive office and a “portfolio acquisition executive.”
“To ensure the success of this effort, all [Department of the Navy] acquisition activities shall pause RAS-related acquisition decisions and contracting actions (including awards and modifications) during the 30-day analysis, unless explicitly approved by the” Navy’s acquisition executive, according to the memorandum.
The acquisition executive “is directed to immediately conduct a focused 30-day analysis (the “sprint”) to develop an implementation plan,” according to the memo. “The sprint team will develop an actionable implementation plan and shall consult with key [Navy] and Marine Corps stakeholders.”
The “sprint” directly will be led by the acquisition executive’s principal military deputy, Vice Adm. Seiko Okano, the memo added.
Phelan’s office did not immediately respond to Breaking Defense’s request for additional comment. A spokesman for the Navy’s acquisition executive declined to comment.
Elsewhere the memo directs the service to undertake a number of analyses concerning the Navy’s current RAS programs, a new structure for consolidating them into a “minimal set of cohesive” program elements, and a transition schedule for the new program offices and associated disestablishment of older offices, among other things.
Next-generation C2 won’t be next-gen without the network transport
The network transport architecture for NGC2 could be a hybrid approach that combines high assurance communications with 5G, WiFi, and multi-orbit satellites.
The memo further states Phelan plans to issue more guidance on “the full implementation” of the new secretary and offices, and that he expects the offices to reach “initial operating capacity within 90 days of this memorandum.”
Phelan’s memo follows a number of other actions by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as well as Army leadership to reduce the number of sprawling offices and staffs throughout the Department of Defense.
The Navy’s traditional structure for unmanned systems delegates responsibilities for surface and sub-surface technologies to Naval Sea Systems Command, while aviation assets are managed by Naval Air Systems Command. It is not clear from the memo how or if the portfolios of each command may be merged under the new organizational structure.
The plans to restructure the Navy’s portfolio were cheered on today by the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International, an industry lobbying group focused on unmanned systems.
“The dedicated RAS team creates the required structure and urgency needed to restore Congressional confidence and finally turn innovation into deployable capability. This step is long-overdue recognition that uncrewed systems are not just enabling tools, they are strategic capabilities critical to achieving the Navy’s mission in a rapidly evolving maritime domain,” Michael Robbins, the group’s president and CEO, said in a statement.