Quickly-fielded prototypes could be critical in helping the Navy sustain its edge in a resource- constrained environment, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson said on Monday.

But the service needs further reforms to the defense acquisition process so that it can rapidly develop such weapons and, just as importantly, hand them off to the fleet more quickly, he said during a speech at the U.S. Naval Institute’s 2015 Defense Forum in Washington, D.C.

“I’m a huge advocate that not all of the best ideas are technologies.  We can learn a lot by the way we do things,” Richardson said. “I think how we cleverly combine these technologies and operational concepts together in more powerful ways that will allow us to compete and win in this environment with the resource constrains that we’re going to face.”

That may go against the conventional thinking in the military, which often prioritizes lumbering, long-term programs that aim to field singular technologies. But investing in an advanced capability will not ensure the United States retains exclusive control of it, and sometimes the most novel innovations occur after a product is put into the hands of the operational community, he said.

Richardson pointed to technology advances in radar that occurred in between World War I and World War II. The United States and other nations invested heavily in radar during that period, with Germany fielding some of the most capable technologies. The United Kingdom’s radars were not so advanced, but the British learned to network their radars together to form a more comprehensive defensive system, which helped them win the Battle of Britain.

Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. John Richardson, the 31st CNO. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Nathan Laird)
Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. John Richardson, the 31st CNO. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Nathan Laird)

Rather than trying to anticipate what the threat landscape will be decades down the road, Richardson said he wants to see development and acquisition timelines get shorter so that technologies can evolve to meet emerging challenges that couldn’t have been predicted. If an idea doesn’t work out, that’s okay, too, he said – as long as that was discovered quickly.

The service can leverage some of the acquisition reforms recently put into policy by Congress and the Pentagon, but ultimately Richardson wants to see “a kind of HOV lane, if you will, that can fast track some really mature and ripe ideas,” he said.

The service also can make greater use of prototyping and fleet experimentation, he said. Robotic systems—such as unmanned aerial systems (UAVs), unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) and unmanned surface vehicles—are prime candidates for these types of activities, including the service’s program of record for an aircraft carrier-based drone, Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS).

UCLASS has been stalled while the Pentagon conducts a review of its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance portfolio and evaluates how to best acquire the assets it needs. But Richardson said the service needs to “get going” on UCLASS so it can learn how to operate a UAV from a carrier.

“There’s an awful lot we can learn there. Of course it will serve a real purpose out there beyond experimentation,” he said. “We’ll adapt as the environment adapts, as the technology becomes more mature.”

Other payloads, particularly electromagnetic ones, could be good options for rapid acquisition and prototyping, he added.