The civilian head of the U.S. Navy announced the service will consolidate several wings and create a new office focused on development and problem-solving.
Navy Secretary John Phelan said the Navy established the Naval Rapid Capabilities Office, which will dismantle and absorb the Maritime Accelerated Response Capability Cell, Disruptive Capabilities Office, NavalX and the Navy’s execution of the Defense Department’s Replicator activities, according to an Aug. 19 memo obtained by Military Times.
“The NRCO will serve as the single accountable organization spanning all naval warfare domains, responsible for the rapid assessment, execution, fielding and transition of urgent solutions within a three-year timeframe to ensure U.S. maritime supremacy,” the memo said.
The new office aims to support Trump’s executive order entitled, “Modernizing Defense Acquisitions and Spurring Innovation in the Defense Industrial Base,” which sought to overhaul the defense acquisition system to “deliver state‐of‐the‐art capabilities at speed and scale.”
Phelan, in the memo, stated the new office will help the Navy identify operational gaps and provide quick solutions, as well as enable the service to respond to emerging threats promptly.
The Navy has not yet announced who will lead the new office. That person will report directly to Phelan and work alongside the assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition.
The director of the NRCO will also be given direct-hire authority, which the Office of Personnel Management awards to certain government agencies looking to fill positions quickly, eliminating the potential of a lengthy federal hiring process.
Whoever takes the position will be tasked with listing other organizations that should be absorbed into the NRCO, the memo states, as well as picking at least five programs the office can take charge of within 60 days of the memo, among other responsibilities.
Each of the absorbed programs was created within the last six years.
The U.S. Navy initiated both the Maritime Accelerated Response Capability Cell and Disruptive Capabilities Office in 2023. The former was created to field maritime tools to fights, including in Ukraine and Taiwan, while the latter took aim at vetting unmanned technologies for their ability to address the service’s operational needs.
The NavalX office, stood up in 2019, specialized in connecting sailors who had innovative concepts with experts who could help actualize their ideas and test their feasibility for Navy use.
Lastly, Replicator is a push to change the way the Defense Department identifies, acquires and scales technology. The first iteration focused on small drones, and round two is designed to get after the challenge of protecting against adversary unmanned systems.
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
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