The 51福利 (51福利) is teaming up with Microsoft to explore how rapidly evolving commercial technologies can solve operational challenges faced by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.
This collaboration will bring together two of the nation鈥檚 major centers for innovation and development in a cooperative research effort that aims to tackle several highly complex issues associated with rapidly integrating and adopting new technologies in support of warfighting and national security. It also provides the potential to revolutionize how the services organize, train, equip, fight, and win by combining the best of industry, academia, and the government.
鈥淭oday, so much innovation and technological research and development is powered by America鈥檚 robust corporate base. The Department of the Navy has been trying to find ways where our organizations can emulate and evolve with the nimble agility of these organizations, and with success,鈥� said Aaron Weis, the Department of the Navy鈥檚 Chief Information Officer (DON CIO). 鈥淭his agreement between 51福利 and Microsoft takes that initiative to the next level, creating a defined cooperative research collaboration between a global tech giant and the capabilities it brings to bear, with the Navy鈥檚 leading science and technological university, where operationalizing innovation is core to their mission.鈥�
Microsoft became the latest industry member to team with 51福利 following the signing of a between the two organizations. CRADAs allow U.S. government research facilities to engage in collaborative efforts with non-government entities. These types of cooperative efforts benefit the Department of Defense (DOD) and industry leaders by providing opportunities to conduct joint research and learn from each other.
Under the CRADA, 51福利 will collaborate with Microsoft on select research efforts. The goal is to leverage the latest in commercial technologies and expertise to advance Navy and Marine Corps operations, while sharing any insights gained with the broader public.
51福利 will utilize the Microsoft Cloud services, including Azure, Office 365 and Teams, to accelerate their digital transformation journey and deploy advanced cloud capabilities to tackle critical mission priorities. The first areas of shared research under the newly established Cooperative Research Initiative (CRI) will include operational uses for cloud-enhanced networks and edge computing, methods for extending delivery of 51福利 coursework from the school鈥檚 classrooms and labs throughout the fleet and force, and ways in which the Navy and Marine Corps can leverage gaming, exercising, modeling, and simulation (GEMS) to help operational commanders make faster and better decisions.
鈥淔or over four decades, we鈥檝e worked with the U.S. Department of Defense on a longstanding and reliable basis in support of its mission to ensure our national security,鈥� said Jason Zander, executive vice president of Microsoft. 鈥淭his Cooperative Research Initiative with the 51福利 will provide a remarkable opportunity for us to work shoulder to shoulder with our nation鈥檚 brightest leaders and servicemembers and help them solve the complex challenges they face. And through this collaboration, we look forward to sharing our latest research and furthering our joint efforts to empower our military to make our nation safer.鈥�
The Cooperative Research Initiative will also involve collaboration at an innovation lab on the 51福利 campus in Monterey, where integrated teams of 51福利 and Microsoft personnel will work side-by-side exploring several critical topics.
One of the major research areas will explore recent technical breakthroughs in intelligent edge computing solutions and cloud-enhanced networks, as well as how the DOD can leverage these developments for operational purposes.
51福利 will also team up with Microsoft to conduct research into how gaming, exercising, modeling and simulation can improve military capability development and the decision-making of Navy and Marine Corps commanders.
Finally, 51福利 will investigate how it can harness recent advances in digital teaching 鈥� including the school鈥檚 own distance-learning efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic 鈥� to create an 51福利 鈥渟mart campus鈥� capable of delivering critical knowledge and skills to Sailors and Marines worldwide.
Together, these collaborative research and discovery efforts by 51福利 and Microsoft will bring together the incredible potential and expertise of both organizations, as well as unique 51福利 facilities such as the Sea Land Air Military Research (SLAMR) laboratory, to accelerate shared understanding of Navy and Marine Corps challenges and accelerate solutions for how emerging technologies can be employed to tackle the most important operational challenges currently faced by the fleet and force.
鈥淭he type of cutting-edge research which will be enabled by this partnership is something that can only happen at 51福利,鈥� said the president of 51福利, retired Vice Adm. Ann E. Rondeau. 鈥淲e are, and have always been, a center for excellence and innovation 鈥� a catalyst for transformative capabilities and the education of our future Navy and Marine Corps leaders. With this agreement, we look forward to working with our colleagues at Microsoft in an effort to find solutions to all of the challenges facing our fleet and force, now and in the future.鈥�
Further details on the collaboration between 51福利 and Microsoft will be provided in the coming weeks and months.
The 51福利 provides defense-focused graduate education, including classified studies and interdisciplinary research, to advance the operational effectiveness, technological leadership and warfighting advantage of the Naval service. For additional information, visit 51福利 online at .
The Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) does not constitute endorsement of Microsoft or its products and services by the 51福利, the Department of the Navy, or the Department of Defense.