Submarine news: Project Overmatch ramps up

The Navy’s Project Overmatch is said to be developing new torpedo projects and more secure ways to communicate between unmanned systems, aircraft and ships.

“The reorganization allowed the attack submarine and ballistic missile submarine communities to each look at new construction and sustainment of existing boats in one breath, versus treating them as separate endeavors. It also created a third program executive office, PEO Undersea Warfare Systems, to look at the networks, combat systems, weapons and more that would enable the submarine fleet, said Defense News’s Megan Eckstein.

In April, it was reported that the Navy was testing with the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, though the project is said to be shrouded in secrecy.

Project Overmatch is an initiative of the United States Navy aimed at networking its assets in a way that will give it a decisive edge in future conflicts, particularly by achieving a higher level of integration and coordination between its various platforms. The project’s details are relatively scant in the public domain because of its nature involving military tactics and technologies, but the overarching goal is clear: to connect sensors, shooters, and data from all domains—air, land, sea, space, and cyber—to create a more formidable and agile force.

One of the critical objectives of Project Overmatch is to develop a Naval Operational Architecture (NOA) that includes both the hardware and software required to enable distributed maritime operations and to integrate with joint and coalition forces effectively. This would allow the U.S. Navy and its partners to operate more effectively in a complex and contested environment by:

Enhancing Decision-making: Through the use of artificial intelligence and advanced data analytics, the NOA aims to significantly accelerate decision cycles.

Increasing Lethality: By connecting platforms and weapons systems across all domains, the Navy aims to increase the lethality of its forces by enabling them to respond more quickly and with more precision.

Improving Information Sharing: Better communications and data-sharing systems are meant to ensure that the right information gets to the right place at the right time, enhancing situational awareness and operational planning.

Ensuring Redundancy and Resilience: By creating a distributed, networked force, the Navy seeks to ensure that its operations can withstand losses of individual components without a significant decrease in effectiveness.

Project Overmatch is part of a broader Department of Defense strategy to maintain a technological advantage over peer and near-peer adversaries. It works in conjunction with the U.S. Army’s Project Convergence and the U.S. Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) as part of the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) concept.

The goal of JADC2 is to develop and deploy an integrated system that will enable the U.S. military to act across all domains at a speed that is not currently possible. It reflects a shift in military strategy and tactics in response to the rapid development of digital and communication technologies and acknowledges the increasingly network-centric nature of modern warfare.