Ocean Warfighting Environment Applied Research

PE 0602435N: Ocean Warfighting Environment Applied Research is a Navy Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) program element focused on applied research to enhance the U.S. Navy's ability to sense, predict, and exploit the ocean, atmosphere, and littoral environments for tactical, operational, and strategic advantage. Managed by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), this program transforms foundational scientific knowledge into predictive models, sensors, and technologies that directly support naval warfighting capabilities. The objective is to maintain maritime superiority and ensure national security by providing actionable environmental information to commanders and integrating advanced environmental knowledge into naval decision aids and operational systems.

Coastal Geosciences/Optics aims to improve understanding of littoral, nearshore, and riverine environments by developing predictive environmental models, custom climatological databases, and advanced remote sensing capabilities. The program emphasizes field research, including satellite-based sensing to enhance global bathymetry, studies of inner shelf processes, optimization of remote sensors using unmanned platforms, and development of underwater image prediction tools. Efforts also include leveraging machine learning for high-resolution land surface analysis and predicting topographic changes in sandy coastal environments, which are critical for Naval Special Warfare, Mine and Expeditionary Warfare, and Amphibious operations.

Marine Mammals and Biology focuses on characterizing the effects of Navy-produced underwater sounds on marine mammals. This research supports Navy environmental compliance and the development of mitigation measures by studying behavioral and physiological effects, gas management in deep-diving mammals, sound reception mechanisms in whales, and stress responses to sonar exposure. The program's objectives are to ensure the Navy can continue training and testing operations while meeting regulatory requirements and minimizing environmental impact.

Marine Meteorology develops observing technologies, predictive models, and Tactical Decision Aids (TDA) to describe atmospheric and near-space environments and their impact on naval operations. Key objectives include improving numerical weather prediction systems, understanding air-sea interactions, enhancing tropical cyclone prediction, and optimizing decision aids for ship routing and infrastructure protection. The program also advances data assimilation techniques, studies atmospheric phenomena affecting sensor performance, and incorporates machine learning for computational efficiency in ensemble forecasting.

National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) represents the Navy's investment in multi-agency ocean research collaborations. NOPP addresses scientific challenges that cross agency boundaries, such as ocean and coastal dynamics, sensor development, and modernization of ocean observation infrastructure. The Navy's participation enables efficient, large-scale research efforts, including the development of next-generation oceanographic sensors, hurricane impact forecasting, and studies of ocean soundscapes relevant to marine mammal research.

Task Force Ocean (formerly Ocean Acoustics) investigates the impact of the ocean environment on acoustic wave phenomena to support undersea warfare and force protection. Research includes modeling acoustic propagation, ambient noise, and environmental impacts on sonar performance, particularly in the littoral zone. The program develops tools and algorithms for environmental awareness, sensor performance prediction, and tactical exploitation of the ocean environment. Efforts leverage AI/ML techniques and real-time data assimilation to inform anti-submarine warfare and seabed operations.

Physical Oceanography develops predictive models of ocean physics, including water mass structure, waves, currents, and air-sea interactions, to enable tactical exploitation of the battlespace. The program integrates remote sensing, in-situ, and adaptive sampling data to optimize predictions for surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and mine warfare. Efforts also focus on developing autonomous sensors for Arctic operations, improving data assimilation for coupled Earth system models, and supporting rapid characterization of the ocean battlespace using coordinated unmanned platforms.

Congressional Adds in recent years have supported targeted research such as Atmospheric River Research (improving prediction of extreme precipitation), Naval installation climate change risk management, Pacific infrastructure engineering, Ocean Acoustics for Monitoring, intelligent autonomous systems for seabed warfare, Arctic geospatial monitoring, and upgrades to secure university research facilities. These adds often address emerging operational needs, environmental challenges, and technology gaps identified by Congress and Navy stakeholders.