Naval Air Force Atlantic Commander, Rear Adm. John F. Meier, parks a mechanized weapons skid developed by the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division during its third annual Advanced Naval Technology Exercise at multiple sites throughout 2021. This year’s exercise demonstrated more than 20 emerging technologies focused on defense priorities like 5G, autonomy, and unmanned technologies and provided a glimpse at future flight lines for naval aviation. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Bonnie Lindsay)
NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER AIRCRAFT DIVISION, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. – The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division recently completed its third annual Advanced Naval Technology Exercise (ANTX), showcasing more than 20 emerging warfighter technologies at its Patuxent River headquarters.
ANTX, a series of demonstrations by Navy and Marine Corps organizations, displayed new technology in settings similar to real-life operational environments and assists senior leaders in assessing and prioritizing technologies.
“NAWCAD’s focus on ‘joint war at sea’ during this year’s ANTX was made possible by the unparalleled professional talent of our warfare center teammates, and the capability resident in our infrastructure,” said NAWCAD Commander, Rear Adm. John Lemmon. “Our warfare center labs, ranges, and supporting technologies form an experimentation environment critical for advancement of warfighting concepts and capabilities for our fleet.”
This 11-month exercise included numerous government partners, such as the Naval Information Warfare Centers and the Federal Aviation Administration. The experiments also had significant industry participation, which offered opportunities for direct feedback from military operators and government acquisition and developmental decision makers.
“NAWCAD successfully transitions much of its ANTX technology from demonstration to deployment because of our narrow focus on very specific capability gaps,” said Tony Schmidt, NAWCAD’s director for rapid prototyping and experimentation. “This year we focused on high priorities like 5G, autonomy, and unmanned technologies.”
This year’s ANTX demonstrated a hypothetical flight line of the future delivering significantly improved situational awareness and more robust traffic control. NAWCAD presented implementation of 5G on the flight line to manage and track aviation assets and equipment. The command tested a remote controlled weapons transport system that frees sailors for more important tasks. It flew an unmanned aerial cargo transportation system that frees other piloted aircraft and potentially transforms military logistics at sea. It also demoed its augmented reality maintenance system, which will connect stateside engineers with mechanics across the globe, and TCTS II, the Navy’s new tactical combat training system.
The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division is the Navy’s largest warfare center, employing more than 17,000 military, civilian and contract personnel. It operates test ranges, laboratories and aircraft in support of test, evaluation, research, development and sustainment of everything flown by the Navy and Marine Corps. Based in Patuxent River, Maryland, the command also has major sites in St. Inigoes, Maryland, Lakehurst, New Jersey, and Orlando, Florida.