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As the U.S. Navy's ship-systems program manager, engineer, and technical authority, the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) relies upon more than 50,000 Sailors and civilians, and thousands of contractors, to develop, design, build, and maintain the world's most advanced fleet. The largest systems command in the Navy, NAVSEA's team of engineers, naval architects, scientists, technicians, craftsmen, and staff support the fleet at four naval shipyards, nine supervisors of shipbuilding (SUPSHIPs), two warfare technical centers, the Naval Ordnance Center, the NAVSEA Logistics Center, seven affiliated program executive offices (PEOs), and headquarters operations.
This world-class team is working diligently, in partnership with industry, to pioneer advanced technologies, adopt industry's best practices, and reduce the Navy's cost to the American taxpayer. At the same time, this government-industry team is developing and producing 21st-century ships, submarines, and weapon systems to give America a stronger, more capable Navy than that of just a decade ago.
Among the challenges confronting the Navy and NAVSEA is ensuring interoperability between ships and aircraft in a battle group or joint force, as America's warfighting systems become more complex. This challenge comes at a time when the Navy is shifting its philosophy and designs away from individual ship-centered (platformcentric) warfare systems, and toward those based on sharing information among all members of a battle force (network-centric)-an approach that will magnify the capabilities of the fleet of the 21 st century. These are just some of the fundamental strategies that guide the NAVSEA team as it manages programs and provides the engineering support, technical authority, and fleet and logistics support needed to keep the world's only superpower ready, capable, and forward-deployed.
Adopting Industry's Best Practices
In an aggressive business plan, NAVSEA is charting a course to achieve world-class acquisition, in-service support, and technical supportemploying new concepts to acquire and support major ships and weapon systems, and conducting pilot programs to evaluate new business concepts. NAVSEA is defining its core businesses, re-engineering its business processes, and shifting some of the activities that are not core to the fleet. The command also is working with the fleet in regionalizing maintenance functions and using competitive sourcing to streamline command operations. The goal of these initiatives is to shape the NAVSEA of the future into an agile, competitive organization with...