Top Navy Official Discusses Project Overmatch Progress

The Navy’s top officer said the service is headed in the right direction as it continues work to actualize Project Overmatch.

Speaking at the 2021 Sea Air Space conference, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday noted that the third cycle of technology testing for Project Overmatch is underway.

However, he said much work has to be done before the Navy can roll out new capabilities across strike groups in 2023, FedScoop reported.

Project Overmatch is the Navy’s contribution to the military’s Joint All Domain Command and Control strategy and is aimed at facilitating synchronized swarming attacks at sea through data sharing. It is envisioned to work in concert with capabilities deployed as part of the Army’s Project Convergence and the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System.

Rear Adm. Douglas Small, head of the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, also provided updates, saying NAVWAR is currently working on the foundational architecture for Project Overmatch and testing new tech.

According to Small, one of the main challenges is clearing data hurdles and finding a way to transfer data across multiple domains.

Small’s sentiment was echoed by Kelly McCool, the acting director of the Navy’s Digital Warfare Office. McCool stressed the importance of being able to seamlessly send information from two points.

She said a key design element for Project Overmatch is primary alternate paths and contingency and emergency routes for data transmission while also ensuring security upfront.