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.