Rear Admiral (Retd.) Robert Tarrant
Former Commander Operations
Royal Navy
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Preparing for future undersea warfare: Insights from Rear Admiral (Retd.) Robert Tarrant CB
PRE-CONFERENCE WAR GAME: MEETING THE THREAT BENEATH THE WAVES
Monday, June 24th, 2019
2:00 PM OPENING REMARKS
Session Background
NATO’s perceptions of a growing submarine threat have emphasised the importance of the Alliance’s anti-submarine warfare training exercises. In 2018, Dynamic Manta and Dynamic Mongoose both provided important opportunities for NATO forces to enhance their ASW warfighting skills, and to test their ability to deliver the rapid and integrated response necessary to detect, deter and respond to future threats to security within the Alliance’s AOR.
These training exercises, whilst critical to readiness, do not offer a front-row seat for defence industry. Whilst operational details are withheld by necessity, there is nonetheless much value in simulating a joint response to the un-authorised intrusion of a non-NATO submarine within the territorial waters of a NATO member. This interactive session, hosted by the conference chairman and run as a war game, will provide an excellent opportunity to simulate such a response, as a means to identify and to resolve the limitations that exist in current approaches to ASW training, interoperability and capability.
The Scenario
It’s 2030. An unmanned platform operating on the surface of territorial waters belonging to a NATO member has picked up an acoustic signature via its onboard active sonar. The detection is relayed to an acoustic operator working from a vessel stationed in nearby waters. Whilst able to determine that the active return is from a submarine, the operator is unable to determine the class of that submarine or its origin. As a joint ASW task force comprising airborne and surface assets is scrambled to respond, a multi-static sensor detects additional submarine activity less than five nautical miles from the first. With the submarines both operating well inside territorial waters and with a NATO task group including high-value assets operating nearby, the priority is to classify the returns and determine a suitable response.
Session Itinerary
1300 Arrival, registration and coffee
1400 Opening remarks from the session moderator: introducing the scenario
1415 Session 1: The Scenario Deploying ASW forces in acoustically challenging and littoral environments
· What would NATO’s current response to unidentified and un-authorised submarine activity look like?
· What would the limitations – tactical and technical - be to that response? How would the joint ASW task force integrate and operate?
· What does submarine deterrence look like for the future?
1515 Coffee and Networking
1545 Session 2: Embedding innovation in the ASW enterprise
· How can systems integration for the multi-domain ASW force be improved?
· How can we overcome acoustically challenging and increasingly contested maritime theatres of operation?
· What will the role of autonomous systems be in supporting future ASW?
1630 Session 3: Beyond technology and toward process
· Keeping training in-line with capability
· Ensuring the synthetic training model evolves to suit the demands of the contemporary threat context
1715 Session conclusions and roundup
1715 Session close
Why should you attend this workshop?
· Understand existing limitations to the interoperability of NATO’s ASW forces, and help to propose technical solutions that can support a truly joint approach
· Identify innovative ways to approach acoustically challenging environments and improve the accuracy of submarine detection and classification
· Examine the impact of autonomy on the ASW enterprise and on the design of next-generation submarine forces
· Ensure that ASW training matches the capability as we move towards next-generation doctrine, platforms and systems
Broader Questions for the Session
· How does NATO view the future submarine threat, and what impact is that assessment having on current approaches to ASW training and force development?
· Does industry have the solutions necessary to meet the considerable demands of acoustically challenging environments?
· Is the training model keeping pace with the capability, or do we need to look again at how we prepare the next-generation ASW operator?
· Assuming an increasing tempo of operations, how can we make most efficient use of the ASW assets that are available?
CONFERENCE DAY ONE
Tuesday, June 25th, 2019
8:50 AM OPENING REMARKS
10:20 AM SENIOR LEADERS PANEL: OUTLINING THE THREAT FROM THE BLACK SEA TO THE ASIA-PACIFIC
- The proliferation of submarines and the growing global threat from foreign competitors
- Assessing the implications for regional stability and intra-NATO partnerships
- Developing a multi-domain Anti-Submarine Warfare framework in response to the threat
- Putting in place effective procurement models that enable more rapid building and delivery of anti-submarine warfare capabilities in the air, on the surface and undersea
3:25 PM INTERACTIVE AUDIENCE DISCUSSION: HARNESSING NEXT-GENERATION TALENT TO DELIVER NEXT-GENERATION CAPABILITY
Innovation requires innovators. As maritime technology, particularly undersea technology, becomes ever-more innovative, the world’s most advanced navies are facing a challenge; finding and recruiting young talent and applying it to deliver the next generation of maritime capability – whether for ASW or any other mission set. This discussion will examine that challenge by addressing the following key areas:
- How can our navies recruit, apply and retain talent to support innovative approaches to developing naval technology and capability?
- What are the key technology areas that would benefit most from fresh approaches to innovation?
- What should the educational pathway look like for young talent? Improving the appeal of the naval career
CONFERENCE DAY TWO
Wednesday, June 26th, 2019
9:15 AM CHAIRMAN'S OPENING REMARKS
10:40 AM Q&A: FUTURE ASW FROM THE AIR
- How will we integrate the next-generation airborne ASW platform with the suite of sensors and systems that support the undersea mission set?
- What are the limitations for the conventional airborne platform in the context of contested and congested operating environments?
- The place of unmanned capability in the future airborne ASW project. Where should unmanned capability be expected to gap-fill for the manned platform?