The Naval Aviation Training Systems and Ranges program office (PMA-205) recently achieved Full Operational Capability on their Undersea Warfare Training Ranges Increment I (USWTR INC I) program. It was delivered 13 months ahead of schedule. Pictured is a USWTR INC I node, part of the sensor system assembly that transmits acoustic signals, on the ocean floor off the coast of Florida. (U.S. Navy Photo)
NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. The Naval Aviation Training Systems and Ranges program office’s (PMA-205) Ocean Systems Fixed Ranges team recently achieved full operational capability on the Undersea Warfare Training Ranges Increment I (USWTR INC I) program 13 months ahead of schedule.
The USWTR INC I training range supports fleet readiness through realistic training and the tactical development of submarine, surface ship, and aircraft undersea warfare capabilities.
“Since completing installation, the fleet has conducted four exercises on the Increment I range, to include critical anti-submarine warfare exercises, which shape future exercises and further advance the capabilities the Navy has to offer,” said Brandi Payne-Tapponnier, the program’s team lead. USWTR INC I allows for timely and accurate feedback of training performance to exercise participants and the ability to rapidly reconstruct the training event, enhancing the quality of complex training scenarios, she said.
The USWTR program consists of three increments. During USWTR INC I, the team managed the installation of the ocean sensor and shore electronics subsystems located off the coast of Florida. Under Increments II and III, the team is upgrading previously installed systems at the USWTR’s other range locations in areas of the Pacific Ocean and international waters of the Caribbean Sea.
“These ranges are essential to our national security, and provide critical support to the helicopter maritime strike, maritime patrol and reconnaissance, and Navy ship communities,” said Capt. Kevin McGee, PMA-205 program manager. “They include a vast array of technology providing a realistic training environment that enables ships and aircraft to track targets for anti-submarine warfare training, which increases fleet capability and lethality.”
The team acquired and installed an additional total of 500 nautical miles of instrumented undersea warfare training ranges in littoral waters in the Atlantic Ocean. Secondary missions of USWTR INC I include training in shallow water and conducting regional conflict operations training.
About PMA-205
PMA-205 provides full life-cycle acquisition of naval aviation training platforms, general training systems, training range instrumentation systems, and distributed mission training centers to provide U.S. Navy and Marine Corps pilots, naval flight officers, aircrew and maintainers with the training equipment required to provide lethal capability and operational readiness.
The Naval Aviation Training Systems and Ranges program office (PMA-205) recently achieved Full Operational Capability on their Undersea Warfare Training Ranges Increment I (USWTR INC I) program. It was delivered 13 months ahead of schedule. Pictured is a USWTR INC I node, part of the sensor system assembly that transmits acoustic signals, on the ocean floor off the coast of Florida. (U.S. Navy Photo)
