Jonathan M. Dilger, Ph.D.
Director of Research
Naval Surface Warfare Center , Crane Division (NSWC Crane)
Chief Technology Office, Code 00T, Bldg. 34 Innovation Center
300 Highway 361, Crane, IN 47522
jonathan.m.dilger.civ@us.navy.mil
OVERVIEW
Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane), located in Crane, Indiana is a shore command of the U.S. Navy. NSWC Crane is under the Naval Sea Systems Command headquartered in Washington DC.
The mission of NSWC Crane is to provide acquisition engineering, in-service engineering and technical support for sensors, electronics, electronic warfare and special warfare weapons. NSWC Crane also works to apply component and system-level product and industrial engineering to surface sensors, strategic systems, special warfare devices and electronic warfare systems, as well as to execute other responsibilities as assigned by the Commander, Naval Surface Warfare Center.
The focus of NSWC Crane is Harnessing the Power of Technology for the Warfighter. It specializes in total lifecycle support in three focus areas:
§ Expeditionary Warfare
§ Strategic Missions
§ Electronic Warfare
Located on the third largest naval installation in the world, NSWC Crane’s total focus is to support the Warfighter by leveraging its technical capabilities for the rapidly changing combat environment. Anchored by technical expertise, a strong work ethic and total lifecycle leadership, NSWC Crane’s personnel and preeminent facilities set the standard for excellence in acquisition, engineering and sustainment. NSWC Crane provides comprehensive support for complex military systems spanning design, development, deployment and sustainment in three focus areas: Electronic Warfare, Strategic Missions and Expeditionary Warfare.
NSWC Crane’s skilled professionals put technical solutions directly into the hands of the Warfighter, ensuring safer missions. Our broad customer base includes the Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, United States Special Operations Command, Coast Guard, NASA, and many other military, civilian, and foreign military organizations.
NSWC Crane is one of Indiana’s largest high-tech employers with over 3,800 employees of which 2,500 are scientists, engineers and technicians.
MISSION-CRITICAL FOCUS AREAS
Strategic Missions – Deter, Defend, Defeat
NSWC Crane Strategic Missions Center delivers technical solutions to detect threats, provide a layered, integrated missile defense and offer global strike capability. Strategic Missions professionals work to develop, deploy and sustain the technologies to ensure that weapons systems are fully reliable and always available to the Warfighter.
Strategic Missions resources deliver innovative technical solutions encompassing the full range of military activities to alter an adversary’s will and ability to attack the U.S. and its interests. NSWC Crane’s Strategic Missions Center is a world leader in strategic electronics and sensors for successful global deterrence and ballistic missile defense. Offering 50 years of naval strategic missions, NSWC Crane Strategic Missions Center is dedicated to delivering the best technical solutions in Threat Detection, Integrated Missile Defense and Global Strike, to deter and defend against aggression and to defeat threats worldwide.
Electronic Warfare – Control the Spectrum, Control the Fight
As the largest multi-service facility within the Department of Defense (DoD) for EW, EW sensors and electronics, NSWC Crane’s EW Center is critical to the success of many military operations and is designated as the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Center of Excellence for Electronic Warfare.
EW provides innovative, leading-edge, technical solutions for military actions that use electromagnetic energy to control the electromagnetic spectrum. Warfighters use this technology to destroy an adversary’s combat capability, gather intelligence data and ensure friendly use of the electromagnetic spectrum. NSWC Crane’s highly technical solutions are employed across air, ground, maritime and space domains to ensure safe and effective missions for the joint and coalition forces.
Expeditionary Warfare – Rapid Response, Proven Solutions
Focused on agility, maneuverability, individual weapons, munitions and technical training, NSWC Crane Expeditionary Warfare Center equips the most elite warriors for the combat environment.
Expeditionary Warfare supports military forces engaged in Special Operations, Irregular Warfare and Riverine Operations. With more than 1 million square feet of offices and laboratories, the Special Missions Center provides a distinct advantage in sensors and communications, mobility and maneuverability, and special munitions and weapons. NSWC Crane’s Expeditionary Warfare Center is the go-to source for the elite Warfighter who requires solutions that are expertly delivered to ensure safe and effective missions.
TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES
Strategic Systems Hardware
Provides full spectrum life cycle scientific, engineering and management functions to design, develop, test, evaluate, and acquire safe, reliable, secure and effective hardware for Strategic Systems. Ensures the required Navy expertise is available to develop, acquire, field, and maintain a credible and reliable strategic deterrent in the areas of high reliability hardware (including radiation hardened electronics and small ordnance), security solutions for safeguarding personnel, property and material aboard ships and at shore installations (excluding expeditionary coastal and riverine facilities), and acoustic sensors and underwater cables (for assigned systems). Includes hardware for the Navy’s Strategic Weapon System (e.g. flight, launch, guidance, fire control, and navigation systems). Also includes security systems, sensor systems, and the logistics associated with operation of shipboard and ground-based strategic and deterrent facilities and systems.
Advanced Electronics & Energy Systems
Provides comprehensive scientific and engineering knowledge, skills and facilities for conducting programs in advanced electronics and energy systems. Conducts full spectrum program of applied research, design, development, acquisition, test and evaluation, and life cycle management to provide safe, trusted, reliable and effective advanced electronic products. Advanced electronics include active and passive electronic devices, circuit cards, interconnect technologies, electronic controls, solid state transmit/receive modules, microwave tubes and other radio frequency devices. Maintains subject matter expertise in failure analysis, counterfeit technologies, radiation hardening, design, and test and evaluation of advanced electronics. In addition, maintains Naval Sea Systems Command’s (NAVSEA's) technical authority in anti-tamper technology to include vulnerability assessments, technology and program protection planning, and supply chain risk management, as well as subject matter expertise to maintain the Navy's DoD executive agent responsibilities in microwave tubes and printed circuit board technology. For energy systems, provides comprehensive life cycle management for safe, reliable and effective devices. This includes requirements definition, design, development, prototyping & limited production, acquisition & acquisition engineering, product improvement, technology evaluation and insertion, standardization, test & evaluation, safety certification (including high energy battery systems technologies such as lithium), production engineering, in-service engineering, obsolescence management, maintenance, Fleet training, and system retirement. Energy systems includes batteries, advanced high energy density storage devices, energy transfer devices, and alternative and renewable energy devices.
Special Warfare & Expeditionary Systems Hardware
Provides full spectrum life cycle support functions to provide safe, reliable and effective special missions hardware and associated software primarily for use by the individual warfighter including weapons, munitions, and electronic systems for special operations and expeditionary forces. Support includes applied research (excluding energetics material formulations) requirements analysis, systems engineering, design, development, rapid prototyping, test and evaluation, acquisition, integration, logistics, fielding and in service support. Weapons include small arms (less than 20mm). Munitions include small arms ammunition, hand emplaced and man-portable anti-personnel and anti-material munitions. Electronic systems include electro-optic and visual augmentation sensors, electronic warfare, personnel and vehicle scanning and command and control systems as assigned. Weapons, munitions, and electronic systems provide communications, surveillance, detection, tracking, targeting and engagement capabilities in support of special missions.
Infrared Countermeasures & Pyrotechnics
Provides comprehensive life cycle management functions to provide safe, reliable and effective infrared countermeasures, countermeasures systems, and pyrotechnics for a variety of functions including platform self-protection, target enhancement, illumination and signaling and marking. Provides total life cycle support except research, development and scale-up of energetic materials for all Navy infrared countermeasures, countermeasures systems and pyrotechnics. Provides Navy expertise and leadership for infrared countermeasures, countermeasures systems, and pyrotechnics.
Sensors & Surveillance Systems
Provide comprehensive engineering knowledge, skills and facilities for conducting development, acquisition, test and evaluation and full spectrum life cycle systems engineering for surface, air and ground sensors and surveillance sub-systems, systems, and components. On radar systems provides production engineering support, for the development, acquisition, test and evaluation, spiral development and support of radar subsystems and hardware components. This includes support and maintenance of fielded systems and hardware components. On electro-optic and infrared portable and platform mounted air, surface, and ground surveillance, targeting, laser, and visual augmentation systems hardware and associated software, additional capabilities include applied research, development, modeling, test and evaluation, acquisition, fielding, in-service engineering, logistics, product improvement, maintenance and repair. On assigned surface, ground and air signals intelligence (SIGINT) (communications intelligence (COMINT) & electronic intelligence (ELINT)) systems, subsystems and components, including hardware and associated software, leverage multi-domain and full spectral expertise to perform requirements generation and requirements decomposition for development of integrated sensors and advanced capabilities for improved battle space/situational awareness and including, rapid response prototyping and fielding, supportability and technical analyses, in-service engineering, in conjunction with a comprehensive test and evaluation program to ensure sensors and surveillance systems meet or exceed specified requirements.
Electronic Warfare Systems
Provides technical leadership and execution throughout the lifecycle for air, ground, undersea, and surface electronic warfare (EW), including signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information operations (IO) systems. Leads research and development (R&D), system engineering, acquisition engineering and logistics, test and evaluation (T&E), design verification, and technical evaluation (TECHEVAL) / operational evaluation (OPEVAL) for all surface and undersea EW elements, and for all ground and air EW capabilities. Develops EW system and element technical requirements. For surface and undersea EW, provides the cohesive EW element for combat systems integration and supports the integration effort. Collaborates with other Warfare Center activities to facilitate the transition of new technologies into existing and planned EW capabilities. Supports higher level combat system activities relative to the evolutionary acquisition strategy. Leads logistics support services for fielded air, surface and undersea EW systems including supply chain management, performance assessments, continual technical refresh, obsolescence management, configuration control, data management services, and maintenance, overhaul and depot repair.