A REVIEW OF U.S. NAVY CYBER DEFENSE CAPABILITIES
At the request of the Chief of Naval Operations, an ad hoc committee of the Naval Studies Board is conducting a classified study to review the U.S. Navy’s cyber defense capabilities. In addition to reviewing cyber defense-related studies conducted within and outside the U.S. government, the study will (1) review U.S. Navy information technology modernization plans and processes with respect to the evolving threat and robustness to cyber attack, and identify any shortcomings; (2) recommend any immediate operational and technical mitigation strategies needed to address any shortcomings identified above, as well as recommend any future mitigation strategies, including any architectural and procedural changes that would lead to more resilient naval systems and more robust network and communications capabilities given the evolving threat; (3) review and assess the adequacy of current Department of the Navy policies, strategies, approaches, and investments in comparison to the findings and recommendations to both (1) and (2) above; and (4) identify any other critical issue—not addressed in this study—that the U.S. Navy should consider addressing in subsequent studies.
MAINSTREAMING UNMANNED UNDERSEA VEHICLES INTO FUTURE U.S. NAVAL OPERATIONS
At the request of the Chief of Naval Operations, an ad hoc committee of the Naval Studies Board is conducting a classified study to assess the potential of unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) in enhancing future U.S. naval operations. Specifically, the study will (1) identify the missions and environments in which UUVs might be called upon to operate, as well as any issues or barriers (e.g., policy, operational, technical) that might inhibit mission success; (2) for each of the identified missions, assess desired UUV size, quantity, and level of coordination with other unmanned and manned counterparts; (3) review the Department of the Navy’s efforts for UUVs in comparison to (1) and (2); (4) evaluate the Department of the Navy’s technology activities for UUVs, including its vision documents and its science and technology roadmaps (e.g., in areas of autonomy, endurance, communications, sensor capabilities, weaponry, and launch and recovery) against criteria selected by the committee, such as the relevance for conducting future missions, cost and time scale for deployment, scientific and technical quality, and related technology activities outside of the Navy; and (5) recommend operational, technical, and acquisition approaches, excluding organizational changes, that would lead to mainstreaming UUVs into future U.S. naval operations at a faster deployment schedule—to the extent needed—than currently planned.