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The US Navy has accelerated work on the implementation of the Overmatch project, which has been kept secret for almost two years. According to the American press, the project represents the contribution of the US Navy to the Pentagon's program to unite all types of the country's armed forces into a single multi-domain force that could simultaneously and harmoniously operate on land, at sea, in the air, in space and in cyberspace.
Rear Admiral Doug Small, who heads the Naval Information Systems Command and the Overmatch project, called the implementation of the project a priority for the navy, Defense News reports. Within the framework of the project, it is planned to introduce more unmanned systems that will become intelligence collection nodes with their subsequent transfer to ships and coastal command centers.
Since ships are inherently disintegrated, the Navy pays very great attention to improving the efficiency of information exchange between individual ships, as well as ships and air forces, ships and ground forces. Such coherence is necessary in the context of the increasing risks of confrontation between the United States and China in the Asia-Pacific region, according to American military experts.
The chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Mike Gilday, in 2020 called the Overmatch project a priority for the No. 2 fleet, after the delivery of a submarine with Columbia-class ballistic missiles. The project involves a team of industry workers and naval officers who are focused on solving a number of key tasks in the field of analytics and infrastructure.
According to the head of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Research and retired Air Force Lieutenant General David Deptula, it's all about data management and data exchange. Without the appropriate infrastructure, it will be impossible to work with connections and the network, the expert stressed.
One of the first stages of the program will be the demonstration of an aircraft carrier strike group in 2023. This event is already called the "starter" for the project. Subsequently, if everything goes well, the equipment and software will be deployed on all aircraft carrier strike groups of the US Navy.
However, the financial component of the project is also very important. In 2023, the US Navy requested $ 195 million, which is 167% more than the amount received in fiscal year 2022. The American press does not provide other details because of the increased secrecy of the project. The Pentagon is very afraid that China, the main competitor of the United States in the World Ocean, will be aware of the work on the project. American experts, in turn, remind that Russia and China are spending huge sums on military science and technology, including artificial intelligence and accelerating the exchange of information on the battlefield. The United States cannot afford to lag behind potential opponents, according to the Pentagon.
