NAVAL AIR STATION KEYWEST, Florida — Several leaders from Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic traveled to Key West, Florida, in mid-October to engage with members of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command (USNAVSOUTH)/U.S. 4th Fleet as they sought to operationalize manned and unmanned platforms at sea.

The Hybrid Fleet Campaign Event (HFCE) took place ashore and aboard the expeditionary fast transport USNS Burlington (T-EPF 10) and served as both a proving ground for emerging technologies and an opportunity for senior leaders to envision how a manned-unmanned fleet might be integrated.

NIWC Atlantic’s participation in the demonstration was part of its ongoing support for Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) objectives to scale unmanned platforms to the fleet level, including unmanned air, surface and subsurface systems.

“This event was an excellent opportunity for us to better understand real-world warfighter applications in terms of our work in autonomy, data science and assured communications,” said Dr. Suzanne Huerth, who leads NIWC Atlantic’s Science and Technology department and participated in HFCE as an official observer. “We were also able to perceive how we might support innovation and collaboration with U.S. 4th Fleet to strengthen our U.S. maritime posture and partnerships.”

The campaign to inform the hybrid fleet calls for the integration of manned and unmanned systems. In the case of the U.S. 4th Fleet, such a capability could enhance the execution of its missions of defending the southern approaches to the United States, working with partners to counter malign activity in the region, and supporting the detection and monitoring of illicit trafficking.

Vice CNO Adm. Lisa Franchetti also observed portions of the exercise, commenting that the best way to effect change at sea is to rapidly operationalize new technologies. “Whether you’re talking about artificial intelligence (AI), cyber, unmanned platforms, directed energy, or hypersonic missiles, we are on the cusp of technological breakthroughs that are going to define future conflict,” Franchetti said.

It was not NIWC Atlantic’s first foray into hybrid fleet experimentation. Members of the command traveled to South America in July to participate in the multinational maritime exercise called “UNITAS.” Before that, they spent nearly two years supporting Task Force 59 in Bahrain, an initiative launched in 2021 to advance the hybrid fleet campaign.

Earlier this year, Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Honorable Carlos Del Toro and then-CNO Adm. Michael Gilday announced USNAVSOUTH/4th Fleet would also support the development of the hybrid fleet, but using staff already in place vice standing up a task force.

The weeklong HFCE demonstration, which invited technical experts from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Navy, Marine Corps, industry partners and senior military organizations, occurred in conjunction with the Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF South) at Naval Air Station Key West in Florida.

On Oct. 11, NIWC Atlantic leaders toured the Joint Operations Center at JIATF South, which is a subordinate command of USSOUTHCOM. JIATF South shares mission interests in maritime capabilities with U.S. 4th Fleet, but its primary mission is to conduct detection and monitoring operations to facilitate the interdiction of illicit trafficking in support of national and partner nation security.

Over the past decade, NIWC Atlantic has prioritized critical technologies like AI. Now, with the Department of the Navy’s focus on developing and integrating autonomous systems, NIWC Atlantic leaders say AI has become a key enabling technology for delivering maritime domain awareness and rapid decision-making capabilities to commanders.

“The hybrid fleet is a monumental shift in the way we approach naval operations,” Peter C. Reddy, NIWC Atlantic executive director, said following his return from Key West. “Events like HFCE inform the unmanned campaign by showcasing how a hybrid fleet can become a force multiplier to extend our reach, enhance our capabilities and reduce the risks to our warfighters.”

About NIWC Atlantic
As a part of Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, NIWC Atlantic provides systems engineering and acquisition to deliver information warfare capabilities to the naval, joint and national warfighter through the acquisition, development, integration, production, test, deployment, and sustainment of interoperable command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, cyber and information technology capabilities.

About USNAVSOUTH/U.S. 4th Fleet
U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet supports U.S. Southern Command’s joint and combined military operations by employing maritime forces in cooperative maritime security operations to maintain access, enhance interoperability, and build enduring partnerships in order to enhance regional security and promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the Caribbean, Central and South American region.