JNT Service EOD Development

Funding supports the development of unmanned systems for the Navy's expeditionary unmanned underwater Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and Mine Countermeasures (MCM) capability. Specifically, it provides for development of affordable expeditionary remote stand-off underwater systems to support Navy Expeditionary forces including EOD, Mobile Diving and Salvage, Underwater Construction Teams (UCT), and Expeditionary Mine Countermeasures (ExMCM) mission operations. The equipment must be highly portable in order to support the Navy EOD technician to safely detect, approach, render safe, recover, exploit, and dispose of underwater explosive threats to include sea mines, limpet mines, maritime IEDs, and unexploded ordnance. Provides support for the Navy's high priority missions of Maritime Homeland Defense and MCM. This project directly supports Department of the Navy Strategic Roadmap for Unmanned Systems promulgated in March 2018 and addresses capability gaps defined by the Joint Service EOD (JSEOD) Initial Capabilities Document (ICD), Serial Number 671-75-05 of 3 June 2005, Joint Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Defeat Initial Capabilities Document (ICD) of 23 February 2006/JROCM 070-06, and the Expeditionary MCM ICD of June 2017. This project is being executed in accordance with approved CNO N9I Requirement #056-95-19, "Capability Development Document (CDD) for Maritime Expeditionary Standoff Response Family of Systems (MESR)," July 23, 2019. Additional efforts continue to execute the open competition process necessary to acquire and verify an EOD Response ROV capability focusing on user effectiveness and operational suitability to provide a ROV based target interdiction capability to address the capability gaps assessed in the previously conducted Expeditionary UUV Neutralization System (EUNS) AoA. This next generation capability is developed to decrease risk when reacquiring/investigating a potential threat (i.e. sea mine or maritime IED). In response to emergent maritime threat assessments ISO of INDOPAC Global Power Competition (GPC) scenarios, the MESR Program of Record (PoR) will conduct a Proof-of-Concept effort, closely partnered with operational forces, to demonstrate the potential ability to counter deep-water explosive threats as an ExMCM enabling capability ISO Joint Force Maneuver, in place of the Avenger-class MCM ships.

This Program Element (PE) Project (0377) provides funding for the Joint EOD community in the modernization of EOD tools, equipment, and systems to address identified capability gaps. This research, development, test, and evaluation funding provides design, capability development, risk mitigation, issue resolution, integrations, test, test equipment, simulations and technology insertion of specialized equipment, tools and assessment of accessories that expand range of military operations required to support DoD's only Joint Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) programs. EOD exclusively executes world-wide missions for detection/location, identification, render-safe, recovery, field and laboratory evaluation, and disposal of hazards and unexploded ordnance (UXO) that is a threat to military operations, installations, personnel, or material. UXO includes foreign and domestic, both conventional and non-conventional, including Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and devices using radiological and biological means with or without explosives. As defined in DOD Directive 5160.62E, assigns the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) the responsibility of Executive Agent for Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technology and Training (T&T) to include the Joint Service Explosive Ordnance Disposal Research and Development Program. EOD programs are designed to reduce the EOD operator's exposure to explosive hazards or limit the risk to an acceptable level. EOD operations range from hand entry of explosive devices by EOD technicians to robotic actions and sensing capabilities that provide a safe distance of the explosive hazard at a greatly reduced cost to trained and experienced EOD operators.

This project supports the defense objective of preventing terrorist, near peer, and peer operations against the US, allies, and partners within the Radio Frequency (RF) spectrum. It provides for the research and development of Electronic Warfare (EW) systems, equipment, procedures, and tactical aids for all military services to counter the threat posed by Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Devices (RCIEDs), small Unmanned Aricraft Systems (sUAS), and other RF spectrum operations to prevent disruption aross the spectrum of Joint military operations. It utilizes Joint requirements to provide a system of systems approach for a suite of equipment for mounted, dismounted, and fixed site operations, and develops equipment, procedures, and tactical aids to make rapid improvements to performance, supportability and affordability, while maintaining pace with the evolving RF global threats. Joint Counter RCIED Electronic Warfare (JCREW), Increment 1 Block 1 (I1B1) is the next generation of counter RCIED system of systems. JCREW includes fixed site, mounted and dismounted units, which provide countermeasures against the global RCIED threat and sUAS. The JCREW 2.0 technology insertion expands the capabilities to include Multi-Function capabilities for near-peer adversary RF contested environments as part of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Ubiquitous Edge (UbE) FNC. Key system design features include significant performance increases over current legacy systems, a modular open architecture system design to facilitate improvements to address current and future advanced threats, robust information assurance and security, and is net-capable for improved Communications and Control (C2). JCREW I1B1 supports global deployment and sustainment for all combatant commands providing increased protection to Warfighter against the evolving worldwide RCIED threats. This project also provides for the research, development, and systems engineering of related CREW systems, providing capability improvements to fielded systems based on ever-changing RCIED threats against EOD technicians. It provides for research, development, and systems engineering of electronic forensic capabilities related to the technical exploitation of asymmetric threats, including RCIEDs, unmanned systems.

These resources support the development of equipment for the Navy's only comprehensive expeditionary detect to engage and exploitation Mine Countermeasures (MCM) capability. Specifically, it provides for development of Diver Safety/Life Support Equipment, Advanced Diver Integrated Sensors and Command Detonation Systems to support Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) underwater operations, expeditionary salvage, and Expeditionary MCM Company operations. These projects also include additional development, test and evaluation efforts to control equipment influence signature. The equipment must have inherently low acoustic and magnetic signatures in order to allow the EOD divers to safely detect, reacquire, approach, render-safe, recover, exploit, and dispose of underwater explosive threats to include sea mines, limpet mines, underwater improvised explosive devices, and unexploded ordnance.