ANN ARBOR, Mich. – NCMS will help the U.S. Navy keep ships in peak condition at sea through the new Repair Technology Exercise (REPTX), taking place Aug. 22-Sept. 2 at Naval Station Ventura County, A said the consortium Aug 24.
More than 60 technology vendors test their products’ ability to meet real-world fleet maintenance challenges, including assessing and repairing potential battle damage during 12 days of technical demonstrations and on-board experiments. the REPTX ground aboard the Navy Self-Defense Test Vessel, an asset of Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division.
REPTX offers a unique opportunity to evaluate innovative products and services that could potentially help sailors make the repairs needed to keep them sailing. Participants from industry and academia have been identified and approved through NCMS’ engagement with its network of hundreds of innovative technology solution providers.
“Our priorities as a warfare center are to deliver and maintain readiness, modernize and maintain the current fleet, and field the surface fleet of the future,” said Captain Andrew Hoffman, Commander of NSWC PHD. “REPTX demonstrates these priorities by enabling both industry, government and academia to work side-by-side while exploring innovative maintenance concepts that we can rapidly deliver to our forward deployed combatants.”
REPTX participants include private industry, academia and government who will demonstrate technologies designed to address four areas of focus: visualization, command and control aids, advanced manufacturing and expeditionary maintenance. .
During REPTX, technology providers will test their solutions on the NSWC PHD Self-Defense Test Vessel, a decommissioned 563-foot-long Spruance-class destroyer that the Navy uses to evaluate naval weapons and emerging technologies.
Naval Sea Systems Command’s Naval Systems Engineering and Logistics Directorate Technology Office has selected 65 technologies to participate in the event, including unmanned aerial vehicles and submersibles, additive manufacturing equipment, ship-to-shore communication systems, tools inspection and repair, and above- and underwater viewing devices.
REPTX will immerse technologies in a variety of onboard scenarios, such as loss of lighting, an unidentified object on the hull, corrosion and leaking pipes, and damage to the vessel’s superstructure.
“The format will provide a realistic commissioning environment, both dockside and underway, allowing teams to commission, adjust, learn and retest their solutions,” said Janice Bryant, Head of the supporting technology to the Office of Technology of the Naval Systems Engineering and Logistics Directorate and the sponsor of the REPTX.
REPTX is part of the Advanced Naval Technology Exercise-Coastal Trident 2022 package, which began in June and ends in September, and which the NSWC PHD organizes and aims to enhance port and maritime security through experiments on the field involving emerging technologies and training events with law enforcement and other first responders.
