SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The Office of Naval Intelligence highlighted its maritime expertise and new cloud-based capabilities during the WEST 2024 conference held Feb. 13-15 at the San Diego Convention Center.

Co-sponsored by the Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association (AFCEA) and the U.S. Naval Institute (USNI), WEST draws tens of thousands of military, government, and industry partners together each year to discuss technological challenges and solutions. WEST 2024’s theme, “Are Acquisition and Readiness on Pace to Meet Global Security Demands?” focused discussions on the Navy’s readiness to address future challenges.

On Feb. 13, Commander, Office of Naval Intelligence Rear Adm. Mike Brookes delivered remarks in the Navy Information Warfare Pavilion Theater that addressed the importance of ONI’s expertise in the maritime domain and how ONI is prepared to deliver decision advantage in times of peace and crisis.

“I want each of our adversaries to wake up every morning, calculate the risk, and decide that today is not the day to pick a fight with the most powerful Navy in the world, the U.S. Navy. ONI has a critical role in frustrating their calculations, working with allies and industry partners to ensure our adversaries never get the solution they desire,” Brookes said.

The Navy Information Warfare Pavilion, in its sixth year at WEST, highlighted the Navy’s commitment to warfighting and the warfighter, now and in the future. Subject matter experts from Naval Information Forces Command (NAVIFOR); the Office of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare (N2N6); Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. 10th Fleet; Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR); ONI and others met with attendees to highlight current technologies utilized by the fleet.

ONI subject matter experts provided demonstrations of three new cloud-based capabilities that will revolutionize the delivery of critical ONI intelligence, data and development tools to the fleet.

Demonstrators provided an overview of ONI’s Naval Intelligence (NAVINTEL) Cloud Ecosystem (NCE), a secure cloud-based environment that enables users to develop capabilities securely, analyze and respond to current and evolving threats, scale computing power based on demand, and quickly develop and release new capabilities into production.

ONI also demonstrated its first maritime intelligence application on NCE, Worldwide Archive to Establish Trends (WARCHEST), which helps analysts and decision makers rapidly validate and operationalize maritime mission behavior data.

WEST 2024 was an opportunity for ONI to highlight its cloud-based knowledge environment that has automated the delivery of threat intelligence to users. ONI’s Repository for Characterization of the Adversary (ORCA) enables consumers around the world to access vital intelligence in a structured and secure cloud environment via web browser and will eventually support modeling and simulation efforts in both cloud-enabled and degraded or denied environments.

ONI Director of Technology and Innovation Zeke Maldonado and ONI’s Hopper Global Communications Center Deputy N3 Lt. Dylon Grayson spent time meeting with industry partners in the Information Warfare Pavilion Engagement Zone. These smaller, more intimate engagements provided opportunities for more in-depth discussions between government and industry partners to discuss issues, opportunities and solutions.

“Naval Intelligence’s presence at West 2024 allowed us to display our innovation and talents with our technology partners in DoD and industry,” said Maldonado. “Our IT strategic imperative is to provide a modern and scalable information ecosystem to enable automated data collection and deliver timely and relevant insights from that data. To achieve that, Naval Intelligence must continue to engage with fleet customers to capture the requirements and partner with industry to accelerate the adoption of new capabilities.”

WEST’s exhibits and three engagement theaters (Marine, General, and Information Warfare) provided opportunities to discuss topics in detail, and its keynote speaker series allowed attendees to hear directly from senior Navy and government leaders. WEST 2024 keynote speakers included Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti; Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment The Honorable Christopher Brown; U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Samuel Paparo; U.S. Coast Guard Deputy Commandant for Operations Vice Adm. Peter Gautier; and Secretary of the Navy The Honorable Carlos Del Toro.

The Office of Naval Intelligence delivers war-winning maritime expertise that promotes our nation’s prosperity and security, deters aggression, and provides options to our leaders. For more information on the Office of Naval Intelligence, visit www.oni.navy.mil.