Maritime Test Bed Integration
Maritime test bed integration is Black Marlin Defense's flagship government services offering. It is the capability the firm is built around.
Black Marlin Defense provides maritime test bed integration for U.S. government test and evaluation, prototyping, and rapid acquisition programs. The firm coordinates between the government program office, the operations and logistics contractor, and the commercial vessel owner to move payloads, sensors, and systems from concept to in water testing.
Photo Courtesy of US Marine Corps
What Is Maritime Test Bed Integration?
Photo Courtesy of United States Navy
Maritime test bed integration is the coordination function that connects three parties who each control one piece of a maritime prototyping effort but rarely communicate directly: the government customer requesting the test, the contractor administering day to day vessel operations, and the commercial owner of the vessel itself. Black Marlin Defense performs this coordination function on behalf of government program offices, acting as a single point of contact so the program office is not required to manage maritime logistics directly.
The Maritime Test Bed Problem
Government maritime prototyping programs face three recurring obstacles:
Vessel availability
Government owned hulls are in short supply. Programs seeking a test platform frequently cannot secure one through organic Navy assets on the timeline the program requires.
Requirements translation
Commercial vessel operators are often ready to support but are waiting on requirements from the government customer. Those requirements are frequently incomplete or written in a form that does not translate directly into a maritime operations plan.
Communication gaps between 3 separate organizations
The government customer, the operations and administrative contractor, and the vessel owner each operate in a different domain of expertise. Without a party responsible for translating between them, schedules slip, costs increase, and testing windows are missed.
Each of these obstacles is a coordination and communication problem, not a technology problem, and it sits outside the core mission of a government program office, which is managing vendor relationships and technology development, not maritime logistics.
Photo Courtesy of United States Navy
Core Competencies
Vessel identification and scheduling across commercial and government sources.
Translation of program requirements into an executable maritime operations plan.
Coordination between the government customer, the operations contractor, and the vessel owner.
Logistics and administrative management on behalf of the program office.
Single point of accountability for the government customer throughout the test period.
Custom platform integration from concept through in-water testing.
Differentiator
Black Marlin Defense operates as the integration point between the three parties involved in any maritime test bed effort: the government customer, the operations and administrative contractor, and the vessel owner. The firm's role is to let the program office hand off a requirement and receive a tested platform in the water, without managing the maritime logistics in between.
Track Record
Black Marlin Defense has provided maritime test bed integration support to three government prototyping projects to date, with additional projects underway. Customer and vessel identities are withheld out of respect for program confidentiality.
Who This Serves
Maritime test bed integration is built for program offices and test organizations that need a vessel in the water but do not have the bandwidth to manage maritime logistics themselves, including organizations such warfare centers (NIWC), Program Executive Offices (PEO), and other government test and evaluation, prototyping, or rapid acquisition offices.
FAQs
What is maritime test bed integration?
Maritime test bed integration is the coordination of a government customer, an operations and administrative contractor, and a commercial vessel owner to place a payload or system in the water for testing. Black Marlin Defense provides this service for government programs.
Who provides maritime test bed integration for government programs?
Black Marlin Defense provides maritime test bed integration for U.S. government test and evaluation, prototyping, and rapid acquisition programs, coordinating vessel access, requirements, and logistics on behalf of the program office.
Why do government maritime prototyping programs need an integrator?
Government owned vessels are in short supply, and commercial vessel operators typically need clearly defined requirements from the government customer before they can act. A program office managing vendor and technology relationships does not typically have the bandwidth to also manage maritime scheduling and logistics. Black Marlin Defense fills that role.
How many projects has Black Marlin Defense supported?
Black Marlin Defense has supported three government maritime prototyping projects to date, with additional projects underway.
Is maritime test bed integration Black Marlin Defense's main government service?
Yes. Maritime test bed integration is Black Marlin Defense's flagship government services offering. The firm also provides related maritime advisory and acquisition support services.