Combat Direction Systems Activity (CDSA) Dam Neck is a United
States Navy field command located in Virginia Beach, Va., in the midst of the
world’s largest naval fleet concentration area in the world. As part of the Naval Sea Systems Command
(NAVSEA) organization, CDSA is a systems engineering, acquisition, and
in-service support organization residing on the Dam Neck Annex, which is part
of the Naval Air Station Oceana base complex.
CDSA also overlooks the Virginia Capes Fleet Operations Area (VACAPES).
CDSA consists of a command staff,
a technical department, and a support department. The technical department, known as the Maritime
and Joint Systems Integration and Interoperability Department is one of six
technical departments of Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division
(NSWCDD).
The department’s mission is to
modernize and sustain systems on nearly every combatant and capital ship in the
Fleet including systems such as Battle Force Tactical Trainer (BFTT); SQQ-89 Undersea Warfare System, Ship
Self Defense System (SSDS) Mk 2, radar data distribution and display systems
and special sensors. In 2014, CDSA
conducted more than 560 installations and 4,700 individual Fleet support events including test and evaluation evolutions, installations and upgrades, distance and
onboard technical, logistics, and material assistance.
CDSA’s technical expertise is well known and based on
significant successes in the increasing demand area of Integrated Training
Systems. Specifically, the department
has been recognized for its superb engineering work on the BFTT system,
installed on more than 130 ships. Upon its inception, the Battle Force Tactical
Trainer revolutionized the fleet inter-deployment training cycle. Today, CDSA, as the BFTT ISEA, or In-Service Engineering
Agent, has virtualized portions of BFTT, allowing the operator to be hosted on
new, inexpensive hardware.
Moreover, Battle Force Tactical Trainer engineers hold
leadership roles in the Navy Continuous Training Environment Program, managed
at Navy Warfare Development Command, and
the Joint Knowledge Online Division at the Joint Staff J7. CDSA is also leading
NSWCDD’s effort to produce the Advanced Training Domain – the next evolution of
combat systems embedded training.
Additionally, CDSA assumed SSDS hardware design
responsibilities with the 2012 generation of equipment. This effort produced a savings in excess of
$12 million in hardware procurement costs alone, compared to the previous
baseline. Without this accomplishment, the Navy’s modernization of the LSD
41/49 class and LHD 2 through 6 would not be affordable.
Maritime and Joint Systems Integration and Interoperability
Department engineers also design, develop, test, train and certify
cybersecurity initiatives for naval customers worldwide. The department is responsible for leading significant
cybersecurity engineering efforts across the Navy and Marine Corps, including the
CVN 78 and 79 platforms and for both variants of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). In late
June 2014, CDSA collaborated with the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Rapid Innovation Cell and Naval Warfare
Development Command to advance Additive Manufacturing (AM)efforts for the
Department of Defense by hosting the Navy’s first-ever Maker’s Faire – Print The
Fleet (PTF). PTF introduced 3D printing and additive manufacturing to Sailors
and other stakeholders during a two-day event with the intent of providing
awareness of the capability and soliciting feedback on what parts should be
printed to benefit the Fleet. Additive manufacturing will keep the Navy on the
leading edge of hardware production capabilities, transforming the future of
naval systems design and logistics.
CDSA Dam Neck has more than 50 years of experience and
expertise providing cost efficient, innovative and effective engineering
solutions. In direct support of our naval
customers, we take pride in providing the following quality products and
services: integrated hardware and software, test and evaluation, integrated
training, modeling and simulation, lifecycle systems engineering, and
integrated logistics.