NUWC Division Newport Looks to Build Partnerships, Hosts Rhode Island Commerce Officials

As the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport looks to expand on its “Mastery of the Seas at All Depths” strategic vision, collaborating with industry partners will be a vital piece to success. To that end, the command hosted Rhode Island Secretary of Commerce Stefan Pryor for discussions and tours at the warfare center on January 16.

Also visiting Division Newport were James Bennett, president and chief executive officer of the R.I. Commerce Corp.; Christopher Albert, the state director for U.S. Sen. Jack Reed; and Kevin Czinger, founder and executive chairman of Divergent Technologies, a California-based additive manufacturing company.

In fiscal year 2025, Division Newport executed 2,370 contract actions worth $1.27 billion in obligations, including $300 million small business obligations. Stephen Lamb, head of the Contracts Department, said his group is exploring more nontraditional methods, including the use of Other Transaction Authority (OTA) and Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO), to “diversify the players on the field that make everything happen.”

Division Newport has more than 100 Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) in place with various organizations and maintains a relationship with the Undersea Technology Innovation Consortium (UTIC), which drives cross-organization partnerships around innovation and prototyping to the mutual benefit of the commercial and defense communities. Of the roughly 300 UTIC member organizations, 20 are located in Rhode Island.

Partnerships will be key as Division Newport embarks on its 10-year strategic vision that centers on closing kill chains by advancing defined Capability Focus Areas (CFAs). These areas include subsea and seabed warfare, assured communications and undersea robotic and autonomous systems.

As the Department of War drives reforms within its acquisition process, a move aimed at prioritizing speed and flexibility in technology delivery, Division Newport leadership understands the importance of collaboration to meet its goals and visions.

After briefings with Division Newport leadership, the tour group visited Torpedo Alley and the Propulsion Test Facility, where Doug Arnold of the Undersea Warfare (USW) Weapons, Vehicles, and Defensive Systems Department, provided a brief history of the warfare center’s involvement with torpedo development and an overview of the U.S. Navy’s only land-based facility for full system mechanical testing for torpedoes and other underwater systems. 

Eric Warner, a mechanical engineer in the USW Weapons, Vehicles, and Defensive Systems Department, explained the work done in the Mechanics of Materials Laboratory before the tour wrapped up with a stop in the Anechoic Chamber, a dual-use facility for advanced studies in active noise and vibration cancellation.

Divergent Technologies, founded in 2014, started as a company devoted to revolutionizing the manufacturing of automobiles, but has moved into the defense realm, particularly with the design and engineering of U.S. Navy missiles.