{"id":20774,"date":"2020-10-14T22:00:51","date_gmt":"2020-10-14T22:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/10\/14\/the-us-navys-manhattan-project-has-its-leader\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:53:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:53:25","slug":"the-us-navys-manhattan-project-has-its-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2020\/10\/14\/the-us-navys-manhattan-project-has-its-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"The US Navy\u2019s \u2018Manhattan Project\u2019 has its leader"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2013 The US Navy\u2019s top officer has tasked a former surface warfare officer turned engineering duty officer to create a powerful, all-connecting network<\/a> service leaders believe they will need to fight and win against a high-end foe such as China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday<\/a> tasked Rear Adm. Douglas Small<\/a> to lead an effort that will \u201cdevelop networks, infrastructure, data architecture, tools, and analytics that support the operational and developmental environment that will enable our sustained maritime dominance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calling the effort \u201cProject Overmatch,\u201d Gilday called it the Navy\u2019s top priority after the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeyond recapitalizing our undersea deterrent, there is no higher developmental priority in the U.S. Navy,\u201d Gilday said. \u201cAll other efforts are supporting you. Your goal is to enable a Navy that swarms the sea, delivering synchronized lethal and non-lethal effects from near-and-far, every axis, and every domain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past, Gilday has referred to the effort to field a powerful network as its \u201cManhattan Project<\/a>,\u201d harkening back to the rapid development of the atomic bomb in the 1940s. The urgency behind the effort to create this network highlights the growing sense of unease the Navy has around its position in the world as China builds towards its goal of achieving first-rate military power status by 2049<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Navy\u2019s ability to establish and sustain sea control in the future is at risk,” Gilday said in his letter. \u201cI am confident that closing this risk is dependent on enhancing Distributed Maritime Operations through a teamed manned\/unmanned force that exploits artificial intelligence and machine learning. I am not confident we are building the Naval Operational Architecture connecting and enabling this future force as quickly as we must.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The network is to connect with the Air Force\u2019s Joint All-Domain Command and Control effort<\/a>, which the services are all lining up behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\t