NIWC Pacific empowers Sailors to perform first ‘Sailor Capable Install’

SAN DIEGO — U.S. Navy Sailors onboard USS Tripoli (LHA 7) completed the first “Sailor Capable,” over-the-air software install of the Maritime Tactical Command and Control (MTC2) application suite to Tripoli, March 4, 2024, in San Diego.

In 2023, comparable installs required Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific and Tactical Networks Program Office (PMW 160) engineers to board the ship and perform the install over one week; now Sailors can do so unassisted in just four hours.

“Multiply that by, what, 200, 300 Navy ships? The potential time and money savings there is huge,” said Chris Johnson, head of NIWC Pacific’s command and control systems division. “It’s a win for everyone. The fact I don’t have to send an engineering team onboard the ship now, and Sailors get the latest software fast and easy — it doesn’t get any better than that.”

Over the past year, the Command and Control Program Office (PMW 150) led the NIWC Pacific and PMW 160 teams in improving automation and application deployment for MTC2, which helped reduce time and effort required for installations by 40% over the past five over-the-air upgrades.

“I want to emphasize how big of a deal it was to get three different groups working together,” said Michael Lee, NIWC Pacific MTC2 lead engineer. “It sort of turned everyone’s development timelines and deployment efforts on their heads, but everyone put their best foot forward on this one. Communication, testing, and coordinating all these development efforts only worked because everyone was invested and prioritized it from the top down.”

Tripoli used underway configurations for the exercise to ensure Sailors could perform the install without pierside support services typically provided by NIWC Pacific and PMW 160 engineering teams. During the exercise, Tripoli crew proved they could complete the installation with only supporting documentation and minimal guidance. 

“Fewer boots on deck means we have more time to focus on software development, improving self-sustainment for the installation and application,” said Lee. Their next goal is to reduce upgrade duration to just 45 minutes sometime over the next few months.

MTC2’s tactical planning tool provides a common operational picture commanders can use to refine plans for upcoming operations, some of which may require simultaneous execution. MTC2 gives warfighters the ability to plan and replan based on emerging events, and the time savings and accuracy critical to a dynamic threat environment— ultimately, a toolset to determine how to fight and win.

“When we first started talking about being able to do something like this 10 or 15 years ago, people said it was a pipe dream — it’s never going to happen,” Johnson said. “And even if you asked someone in 2020 if it was possible, they would’ve said, ‘Yep, it’s still a pipe dream.’ But we made it real.”

NIWC Pacific’s mission is to conduct research, development, engineering, and support of integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, cyber, and space systems across all warfighting domains, and to rapidly prototype, conduct test and evaluation, and provide acquisition, installation, and in-service engineering support.