CRANE, Ind. –
A group of Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) Electronic Warfare (EW) and Radar technical experts have been instrumental in plans to bolster the Radar Industrial Base (RIB) for the United States (U.S.).
Strengthening the US RIB is a Department of Defense (DoD) priority, and Adele Ratcliff, the Director of the Industrial Base Analysis & Sustainment Program (IBAS) Program within the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy (IndPol), partnered with NSWC Crane subject matter experts (SMEs) to lead the DoD-wide initiative to complete the Radar Supplier Resiliency (RSR) plan.
The industrial base plays a key role in meeting current, developing, and future Fleet capabilities. The Navy’s Navigation Plan notes, “We will seek opportunities to accelerate the development and fielding of needed capabilities ahead of our rivals.”
John Schofield, the technical lead for the RSR Plan at NSWC Crane, says NSWC Crane has an extensive knowledge base associated with Radar and EW technologies.
“NSWC Crane has the expertise and capability to provide valuable insight in terms of understanding the complex EW and radar technology as well as the industrial base supporting it,” says John Schofield. “There are foundational technology areas, like vacuum electronic devices and solid-state devices, where domestic suppliers are falling behind global suppliers or where domestic suppliers are fragile or diminished. The situation reduces the Department’s technological advantage over near-peer competitors as well as affects our mission readiness. We were able to contribute information about what needs to be sustained and what needs to be advanced within the radar industrial base.”
The RSR Plan documents a coordinated approach to mitigate the adverse impacts of the macro forces threatening the U.S. RIB, and is directly aligned with the DoD led interagency task force report addressing Executive Order (EO) 13806, “Assessing and Strengthening the Manufacturing and Defense Industrial Base and Supply Chain".
Schofield says the RSR plan outlines a blueprint for action.
“Through implementing this plan, we can begin to offset the decades-long erosion of the radar industrial base,” says Schofield.
The plan addresses the five macro forces driving risk into America’s industrial base: sequestration and uncertainly of U.S. government spending, decline of manufacturing base capabilities and capacity, deleterious U.S. government business and procurement practices, industrial policies of competitor nations, and diminishing U.S. science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and trade skills.
Schofield says the RSR plan to mitigate these macro forces is aligned to four levers: investment, policy, regulation, and legislation.
“Investment in U.S. infrastructure can benefit our overall manufacturing capability,” says Schofield. “Especially with lower-tier suppliers in the supply chain, we can address critical bottlenecks and reduce the risk for DoD prime contractors to incorporate lower-tier supplier improvements. Ultimately, we can bridge the technology valley of death that inhibits many of our S&T investments from materializing in our weapon systems.”
About NSWC Crane
NSWC Crane is a naval laboratory and a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) with mission areas in Expeditionary Warfare, Strategic Missions and Electronic Warfare. The warfare center is responsible for multi-domain, multi- spectral, full life cycle support of technologies and systems enhancing capability to today's Warfighter.