The Navy's Tactical Networks Program Office (PMW 160) hosted an Industry Day on Oct. 25 to improve private-sector partners’ understanding of afloat cyber needs and how they can contribute.

PMW 160—part of the Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (PEO C4I)—is responsible for the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) and Automated Digital Network System (ADNS), both of which help deliver cyber-resilient, assured networking to the fleet. The systems rely on industry for many of their capabilities, and the Industry Day helped inform these partners and facilitate future discussions with them. In conjunction with Industry Day, the program office published several requests for information (RFIs) to solicit industry white papers on improving automation, configuration management, cloud edge computing, software defined networking and approaches to improving sustainable warfighting capability. The event featured a technology road map presentation and several panel presentations. 

Cmdr. Kris De Soto, CANES development assistant program manager, moderated two of those panels. 

“CANES is based on commercial-off-the-shelf products, so we need to understand what technology is available and what industry experts see in the future,” said De Soto, “It’s also important for industry to understand the environment in which afloat networks function. This was a great event to open communications between industry and ourselves.”

Her colleague Duong Hang, PMW 160 technical director, moderated a science and technology panel that featured Mark McLain, director, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) Small Business Office; Tim Jara, PEO C4I lead for S&T Assessments; and Shadi Azoum, SPAWAR Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Rapid Innovation Fund program manager. 

“We need to make sure industry knows the wide variety of ways they can engage with PMW 160, especially how they can leverage the research dollars outside of PMW 160,” said Hang.  “For many industry partners unfamiliar with the various S&T programs, the panel gave them new insight into how projects are initiated and funded, when the government releases proposal requests, and how companies can compete more effectively to improve future warfighting capabilities.”

Bill Farmer, deputy program manager, PMW 160, spoke about making effective use of resources, speaking about the need for the Navy to accelerate the delivery of required C4I capabilities that are affordable, integrated and interoperable.

“It is all about delivering capability,” he said. “We’ve had a technology edge on our adversaries and in many ways this event was focused on maintaining that edge.” 

Slides from the PMW 160 Tactical Networks Program Office Industry Day are available at https://e-commerce.sscno.nmci.navy.mil under Special Notices.

PMW 160 is PEO C4I's program office for tactical networks, providing operationally effective and cost-efficient networks for Navy tactical forces. PMW 160 delivers integrated wide area, local networking and foundation computing systems to support a robust network of cyber-ready, geographically dispersed Naval Force supporting Joint and coalition global operations.

Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (PEO C4I) provides integrated communication and information technology systems that enable information warfare and command and control of maritime forces. PEO C4I acquires, fields and supports C4I systems which extend across Navy, joint and coalition platforms. More information can be found at http://www.public.navy.mil/spawar/PEOC4I/Pages/default.aspx

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