NUWC Division Newport welcomes US Rep. Gabe Amo for first visit to warfare center

NUWC Division Newport welcomes US Rep. Gabe Amo for first visit to warfare center

By NUWC Division Newport Public Affairs

NEWPORT, R.I. -

The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport welcomed U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo (D-R.I.) on Oct. 22 for his first visit to the warfare center since being elected to Congress in 2023. Amo represents District 1 in Rhode Island, which includes all of Newport County, and is a member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.

"The Naval Undersea Warfare Center is an essential part of Rhode Island's Blue Economy," Amo said. "The center helps strengthen our defense partnerships with allies abroad and boosts our local economy by supporting the domestic production of submarines and autonomous naval vessels."

The visit was part of a multi-day, multi-stop tour to highlight Rhode Island's leadership in the Blue Economy. Amo met with workers, small businesses, educational institutions and nonprofits that are at the heart of the Blue Economy in Rhode Island. The tour featured key industries like offshore wind, coastal resiliency and design, ocean research and innovation centers.

"I appreciated the opportunity to engage with NUWC's leadership on my Blue Economy tour today to better understand how their critical research and development protects our national security and maintains stability throughout the world."

During his visit, Amo met with Division Newport Commanding Officer Capt. Chad Hennings and representatives from the warfare center's seven technical departments, as well as the Comptroller, Corporate Operations and Contracts departments.

"We are a global enterprise," Hennings said. "Division Newport has 194 representatives worldwide between detachments, on-site offices, in-service engineering agents and Field Team. Our forward presence enables us to rapidly respond to fleet needs."

Each of the presentations conveyed the depth and breadth with which Division Newport serves as the Navy's only laboratory dedicated to full-spectrum undersea warfare (USW). These areas of expertise include sensors and sonar systems, combat systems, electromagnetic systems, platforms and payload integration, USW analysis, ranges, weapons, vehicles, and defensive systems.

Amo also toured the world-class Narragansett Bay Test Facility (NBTF), which supports research, development, engineering and analysis of underwater, surface and aerial vehicles in a realistic, operational environment. The facility played a key role in the recent 2024 Blue Tech Demo Day, which Amo attended at Sail Newport.

While at the NBTF, Amo heard how Division Newport collaborates across industry, academia, and government agencies to advance the state of the art in sonar and underwater sensing capabilities. This included presentations on some of the unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) used to collect this data.

"The demand signal has never been higher in the undersea domain," Hennings said. "Our job is to make naval technical programs successful. We really bridge the gap between the warfighter and what's technically feasible."

In addition to detailing Division Newport's areas of expertise, Hennings also explained the warfare center's operating structure.

Division Newport utilizes a Navy Working Capital Fund (NWCF) model, which means it receives funds from multiple "customers" to execute tasking within its assigned mission. Division Newport's customer base includes the fleet, Navy program and scientific sponsors, the intelligence community, defense and non-defense industry, and foreign militaries.

Those utilizing the NWCF model receive no directly appropriated funding and operate like a nonprofit business with a "customer-provider" relationship. Division Newport conducted $1.7 billion in business in fiscal year 2023.

The warfare center meets this demand signal with a highly skilled workforce of nearly 3,600 government employees and another nearly 3,000 contractors. The government workforce is approximately 73% scientists and engineers, with 36% possessing advanced degrees.

The Division Newport workforce addresses a number of key science and technology (S&T) focus areas, including unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) and weapons, electromagnetic warfare, ocean and bio-inspired sciences, advanced materials, acoustics, sensors, signal processing, communications, modeling and simulation, artificial intelligence, machine learning and cybersecurity.

NUWC Newport is the oldest warfare center in the country, tracing its heritage to the Naval Torpedo Station established on Goat Island in Newport Harbor in 1869. Commanded by Capt. Chad Hennings, NUWC Newport maintains major detachments in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Andros Island in the Bahamas, as well as test facilities at Seneca Lake and Fisher's Island, New York, Leesburg, Florida, and Dodge Pond, Connecticut.

Join our team! NUWC Division Newport, one of the 20 largest employers in Rhode Island, employs a diverse, highly trained, educated, and skilled workforce. We are continuously looking for engineers, scientists, and other STEM professionals, as well as talented business, finance, logistics and other support experts who wish to be at the forefront of undersea research and development. Please connect with NUWC Division Newport Recruiting at this site: https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Warfare-Centers/NUWC-Newport/Career-Opportunities/ and follow us on LinkedIn @NUWC-Newport and on Facebook @NUWCNewport