Trident Warrior ’07 Brings New Technology to the Fleet

Naval Network Warfare Command (NETWARCOM) is hosting Trident Warrior 2007, the annual FORCEnet sea trial event, from March 16 through March 30, to improve communication and speed vital information to warfighters. During the exercise, U.S. naval forces are teaming with DoD and civilian agencies to test new technologies that will improve communication and situational awareness across a multinational experiment. Military units from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and France are also taking part in Trident Warrior. Some participants are actually attending the exercise here while others are linked virtually, using the various technologies being tested in a network-centric environment.

Building on the lessons learned from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita as well as potential threats and events of terrorism inside the United States, DoD, federal, state and local agencies are working together during Trident Warrior to ensure future situations like these are managed effectively. Agencies participating in the event include Maritime Headquarters/Maritime Operations Centers (MHQ/MOC) at Naval Station Norfolk and NATO's Headquarters Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) Naples, Italy.

Cleary added that participants will be focused on establishing formalized procedures and processes for responding to incidents in their areas and how to then link in to different MHQ/MOCs around the world.

Port security is just one of the focus areas for those who organized Trident Warrior ’07. Scenarios tested March 16 all took place in various locations around Hampton Roads and included emergency responders from Norfolk and Virginia Beach and the Coast Guard. "What we haven't seen, and it's a distinct possibility, is the use of maritime domain for terrorist activity," said Cleary. “We have to be prepared to guard against its use as a transporter of weapons of mass destruction, bad people and bad equipment." While the Trident Warrior team aims to make our shores a safer place, they are also thinking fiscally.

Trident Warrior will test more than 100 technologies in 10 major areas that include command and control, networks, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, information operations, cross domain solutions, knowledge management and fires. FORCEnet is the naval integration and alignment effort to make network-centric warfare an operational reality. NETWARCOM is the Navy's type commander for Networks, Information Operations, FORCEnet and Space.

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Emily Zamora, Fleet Public Affairs Center, Atlantic