STS 2021 Theme: “Present and Postured for Strategic Competition”

The US is in midst of a strategic competition that will endure for the foreseeable future. To help the world avoid a great power war, undersea forces must do their part to deter the outbreak of one by demonstrating to adversaries that they cannot use force to achieve political objectives without incurring great risks and suffering great costs.  Short of great power war, undersea forces must also be able to contribute to those areas where day-to-day strategic competition is already underway.  To accomplish this, our undersea forces must have the readiness and force-generation ability to be present, and the capabilities and lethality that postures them to assure execution and provide the needed deterrence and effects far forward.  The undersea forces must be prepared to fast-track technologies and innovation for the near-term, while at the same time preparing the undersea force of the future.

Session Theme: Capacity and Capability for the Near-term fight

Session Chair: Dr. Bill Hoeft
Assistant Session Chair: Mr. Mike Lotito

  • Theory of the fight, and how USW forces fit in
  • Fast-track technologies and innovation for the near-term fight
  • Increasing asymmetric advantages
  • Adversary USW systems – sensors, targeting, UUVs, and weapons
  • Employment of the Aggressor Squadron to improve warfighting performance

Session Theme: UNDERSEA WARFARE IN THE JOINT FIGHT

Session Chair: VADM Dave Johnson, USN, Ret.
Assistant Session Chair: Mr. Matthew O’Connell

  • Undersea forces in Distributed Maritime Operations
  • Decision superiority and Joint All Domain C2 on submarines
  • How SSN(X) could influence future submarine CONOPS
  • Technologies to enhance coordination with allies
  • The synergy of manned/unmanned teaming

Session Theme: EFFECTS FAR FORWARD

Session Chair: Mr. Jason Johnson
Assistant Session Chair: Dr. Brian McKeon

  • Expanding the reach and lethality of undersea kinetic weapons
  • Non-kinetic effects/lethality (e.g. offensive EW and cyber)
  • Acoustic Superiority, including in a contested and/or active sonar threat environment
  • Concepts and technologies for SSN(X)
  • Effects only possible with unmanned systems

Session Theme: ASSURED EXECUTION

Session Chair: CAPT Matt Ritchey
Assistant Session Chair: Dr. Erik Nielsen

  • Undetectable SSBNs/NC3
  • Periscope depth equivalent ops from deep, both sensors and communications
  • GPS and Communications denied environments
  • Next Generation Tactical Communications and CANES integration into submarines
  • Innovations to meet future challenges of Construction/Sustainment/Logistics
  • Rapid force generation concepts
  • Maintenance impacts on availability and force structure

Session Theme: UNDERSEA CAPABILITIES FOR THE NAVY AND THE NATION

Session Chair: Ms. Rachel Hodapp
Assistant Session Chair: LT Justin Reid, USN, Ret.

  • Countering the long range land attack submarine threat
  • Defending distributed maritime operations from undersea threats
  • Subsea and Seabed Warfare (SSW) and seabed defensive concepts
  • Deception and Denial concepts
  • Understanding and exploiting the environment
  • Practical application of AI/ML to USW

If you have questions or would like to know more about the Submarine Technology Symposium, please visit navalsubleague.org/events/submarine-technology-symposium/ or email supports@navalsubleague.org.