DVIDS – News – Secretary del Toro unveils science and technology strategy, providing path to sustainable innovation

To help U.S. sailors and Marines navigate today’s security, economic, and geopolitical challenges, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced the 2024 Naval Science and Technology (S&T) Strategy.

Secretary Del Toro made the announcement on April 9th ​​at Sea Air Space 2024, a three-day maritime exposition in National Harbor, Maryland.

The new strategy serves as a navigational direction to strengthen collaboration with industry, academia, partners and allies, foster groundbreaking scientific research, and accelerate the delivery of innovation to the Navy and Marine Corps. To do. It is also a call for scientists, engineers, inventors and innovators to work with the Department of the Navy (DoN) to solve naval problems.

“This strategy is a global call to scientists, engineers, inventors and innovators in academia, industry and government to solve naval problems to secure our freedoms and way of life. Cooperate with us. Research, development, science and technology allow us to innovate at a relevant speed, and this innovation is the key to ensuring our competitive edge against our opponents.” said Secretary del Toro. “The S&T Strategy will guide the Navy and Marine Corps’ innovation efforts and science and technology research efforts during this critical period. We are certainly in an innovation race, one that we are winning. It’s a competition we have to have.”

The methods outlined in Secretary Del Toro’s strategy to meet the principles include achieving faster technological advances, emphasizing disruptive technologies, integrating experimentation and wargaming into strategy, and combat This includes teaming staff with scientists and engineers.

The new Naval Science and Technology Strategy is further different from previous efforts due to the current context in which it was created.

The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps no longer enjoy the freedom of action at sea necessary to protect national security interests. Although our country remains a technologically superior force on the world stage, that position is determined by studying the American way of war, identifying the capabilities needed to counter our strengths, and developing a unique science and technology strategy. is being challenged by a variety of threats and adversaries that have taken action to develop and exploit the United States. those abilities.

The Naval Science and Technology Strategy is aligned with three key principles established by Secretary del Toro.

1. Strengthening Maritime Advantage — DoN will review and revise current approaches and explore alternative transition pathways for capacity development, particularly in critical maritime areas. This will include continued science and technology collaboration with allies and partners to leverage their investments, identify commercial technologies that can be used by the Navy, and incorporate established entrepreneurship and capital investment methods. Masu.

2. Build a Culture of Combat Excellence — A warrior’s familiarity and proficiency with the use of weapons and tools is part of their excellence in combat, and learning from experience in combat makes them better weapons. This will lead to the development of Naval science and technology involves continuous learning and improvement and contributes to the overall warfighting culture.

3. Strengthening strategic partnerships — Like science itself, partnerships cannot be multiplied exponentially. Through science diplomacy, partners need to nurture relationships over time with everyone’s dedicated cooperation to build trust and confidence.

The Naval Science and Technology Strategy recognizes that the DoN has long benefited from a strong organic, national, and global research ecosystem at naval laboratories and military centers. The result is a rich history of pioneering collaborations with academia, the private sector, and other partners that laid the science and technology foundation for naval superiority.

To sustain this ecosystem, the new strategy calls for a national A greater focus on support opportunities is required. .

Future strategic focus efforts include Director of Naval Research Rear Adm. Kurt Rosenhaus developing a series of science and technology implementation plans aligned with the Chief of Naval Operations’ NAVPLAN Implementation Framework and the Marine Corps Commander’s Force Design. It will be done.

For more information about Naval Science and Technology Strategy, visit https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Strategic-Library/.

Warren Duffy Jr. is a contract employee with ONR Corporate Strategic Communications.