HONOLULU—Speed. Persistence. Capabilities “designed and built to enable operations inside the weapons engagement zone.” The commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet wants it all. And he wants it now.
“Let’s continue to strengthen our rapid acquisition strategy. Put our best technology in the hands of our service members as soon as possible, and continue to outpace the competition,” Adm. Stephen Koehler told an audience of defense industry representatives and troops at the AFCEA TechNet Indo-Pacific conference. “Let’s take a holistic, innovative approach that brings transformative, strategic gains to our force. That includes considering things we’re not doing that we should be doing. That includes ‘embracing the red,’ which is Navy-speak for embracing the problems, adjusting quickly, and running to fix them.”
Koehler said his command has been working tirelessly on innovation, pairing experimentation with rehearsal in exercises designed to develop new capabilities while also building “new concepts of operation.”
“It might sound to you like we’re building the airplane while we fly it. That is no accident. It’s by design. We have to work fast to take advantage of today’s rapid pace of technological innovation. We have to get that capability into the hands of our sailors quickly, to enable them to innovate and force change, if needed,” Koehler said.
Pacific Fleet is already using AI for data analysis, but will continue to expand its use of artificial intelligence to “enhance command control, increase our lethality, and dominate in the [weapons engagement zone] across the entire continuum from competition to conflict, he said.
“I envision a future where the Pacific Fleet is empowered by artificial intelligence, where sailors and commanders at every level balance the art and science of warfare to make more effective decisions with superior outcomes faster than the adversary. A future where AI further accelerates the cycle of action between maneuver and fires for decisive combat advantage.”
Citing Indo-Pacific Command’s expeditionary foundry—The Forge—Koehler said the military and industry must “combine our unique strengths” to move forward together. But, he said, as the process of innovation and acquisition quickens, sailors “must also have the confidence and authority” to install new parts without waiting on contractors.
“Our sailors must have the ability to now only fix their own gear, but retain ownership over their own resilience and combat readiness. For example, if an unmanned system needs to be reconfigured during the fight, our sailors need to do it all. We owe our warriors the right to repair and configure their own equipment.”
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