13 months ahead of schedule, the US Navy’s Undersea Warfare Training Ranges Increment I (USWTR INC I) program has reached full operational capability, according to the US Naval Air Systems Command.
By providing realistic training for naval warfighters and the tactical development of maritime warfare capabilities, the program was designed to support fleet readiness.
Additionally, the program offers instruction in regional conflict operations and shallow water.
The Naval Aviation Training Systems and Ranges program office (PMA-205) Ocean Systems Fixed Ranges team currently oversees it.
Program Team Leader Brandi Payne-Tapponnier elaborated, “Since completing installation, the fleet has conducted four exercises on the Increment I range, to include critical anti-submarine warfare exercises, which shape future exercises and further advance the capabilities the Navy offers.”
“USWTR INC I improves the quality of complex training scenarios by enabling exercise participants to receive timely and accurate feedback on their training performance and by rapidly reconstructing the training event.”
“Increasing Fleet Capability and Lethality” comprises three phases of the program.The team installed shore electronic subsystems and ocean sensors off the Florida coast as part of the first increment.
Systems in other range locations, such as the Pacific Ocean and international waters of the Caribbean Sea, were updated by increments I and II.
The PMA-205 Program Manager Capt. said, “These ranges are essential to our national security and provide critical support to the helicopter maritime strike, maritime patrol and reconnaissance, and Navy ship communities.”Added Kevin McGee.
“They include a vast array of technology that provides a realistic training environment that enables ships and aircraft to track targets for anti-submarine warfare training, thereby increasing fleet capability and lethality,” the statement reads.
The team has also acquired and integrated additional instrumented underwater warfare training ranges covering littoral waters in the Atlantic Ocean for the program, according to the US Navy.
