SEA Project

Systems Engineering Analysis (SEA) Capstone Project 


In lieu of a thesis, SEA cohorts conduct an interdisciplinary design project of significant importance to the Navy. This begins in the fifth quarter with a course on project management, where the project plan is built. Then SEA students analyze the need for the system, determine its operational concept, develop functional requirements, produce the system architecture, allocate the requirements among sub-systems, manage the design of the sub-systems, assure that the final design is integrated, assess any trade-offs made, and then implement and test the solution. Other students across campus may get involved in the design of the sub-systems.

Project Impact

The project results are widely disseminated. Executive Summaries of past projects have been read by or briefed to the CNO and the Defense Science Board, among many others. Student work has great visibility and an impact on major policy discussions.

Students who lead and participate in the campus-wide projects leave NPS with an unparalleled grasp of the strategic, tactical, and technical issues surrounding an important Navy problem. 

 


 

CURRENT: SEA-32 Multi-Domain, Manned-Unmanned Littoral Denial System (2023)

SEA current project

This report details a systems engineering approach to design a manned-unmanned, multi-domain, littoral denial system of systems, projected over the next decade. Mission context scenarios were created to provide diverse system operating environments, enabling a flexible system architecture to address a variety of threats in near-peer competition. With efforts to employ cost-effective and attritable unmanned components, open-source platform reviews were conducted to determine performance parameters, cost, and technical readiness levels, ultimately influencing the eligibility and appropriateness of these platforms for system integration. 

Recent SEA Capstone Projects

                                               Recent SEA Capstone Projects

Recent SEA Capstone Projects (from 2018 forward)

This report details a systems engineering approach to design a manned-unmanned, multi-domain, littoral denial system of systems, projected over the next decade. Mission context scenarios were created to provide diverse system operating environments, enabling a flexible system architecture to address a variety of threats in near-peer competition. With efforts to employ cost-effective and attritable unmanned components, open-source platform reviews were conducted to determine performance parameters, cost, and technical readiness levels, ultimately influencing the eligibility and appropriateness of these platforms for system integration. 

This report explores the extension of the conventional “kill chain” in a counterintuitive manner. Utilizing lessons learned from the SEA29 work in “Logistics in a Contested Environment,” the “kill chain” is re-defined backward from warhead detonation to “metal bending and metal delivery.” This process provides a more well-rounded examination of Department of Defense (DOD) efforts to maintain supply lines in a major conflict, specifically, those supply lines that provide key rare earth elements (REE) to DOD weapons contractors.

The 30th Systems Engineering Analysis (SEA30) cohort, with support from students in the National University of Singapore (NUS) Temasek Defense Systems Institute (TDSI) program and other students in various degree programs at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), were assigned by the Office of the Chief of Naval Personnel branch N9I (OPNAV N9I) to provide an analysis and solution to logistics support in a major conflict.

This project examined the transport and delivery of logistics in contested environments within the context of great-power competition (GPC).

Traditional fleet operations and technologies are not adequately suited to counter the growing threat to undersea infrastructure from autonomous undersea systems. A cost-effective unmanned and manned system of systems is required to provide defense of this seabed infrastructure. This project proposes possible system architectures to defend against this emerging threat to include passive barriers and active defense systems.

SEA-27 Project Tasking

This project studied the impact of the friendly force employment of deception and tactics against an enemy force, and the resulting impact on the adversary’s ability to progress through the various stages of a kill chain.

SEA-30 Resilience in Major Conflict (2021)

SEA-29 Logistics in Contested Environments (2020)

SEA-28 Seabed Infrastructure Defense Analysis (2019)

SEA-27 Distributed Maritime Operations and UxS Tactical Employment (2018)

SEA-26 Set-Based Design: fleet architecture and design 2030-2035 (2017)

SEA-25 Developing a Webfires Training System (2017)

SEA-24 Enhancing High Altitude Anti-Submarine Warfare for the P-8A Poseidon with Unmanned Targeting Air Systems (2016)

SEA-23 Unmanned Systems in Integrating Cross Domain Naval Fires (2016)

SEA-22 Operational Resiliency Assessment of an Army Company Team (2015)

SEA-21A Organic Over-the-Horizon Targeting for the 2025 Surface Fleet (2015)
SEA-21B Conducting Expeditionary Operations in the Contested Littoral (2015)

SEA-20A Distributed Surface Force (2014)
SEA-20B The Distributed Air Wing (2014)

SEA-19A 2024 Unmanned Undersea Warfare Concept (2013)
SEA-19B  Viable Short-term Directed Energy Weapon Naval Solutions: A Systems Analysis of Current Prototypes (2013)

SEA-18A Recapitalization of Amphibious Operations and Lift (2012)
SEA-18B Tailorable Remote Unmanned Combat Craft (TRUCC) (2012)

SEA-17A Influence of Foreign Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief in a Coastal Nation (2011)
SEA-17B Advanced Undersea Warfare Systems (2011)

SEA-16 An Integrated C2 Architecture Concept for UxS in the Year 2030 (2010)

SEA-15 Designing a Maritime Phase Zero Force for the Year 2020 (2009)

SEA-14 Systems Approach to Defeating Maritime IEDs in U.S. Ports (2008)

SEA-13 Maritime Interdictions in Logistically Barren Environments (2008)

SEA-12 A Systems Engineering Approach for Global Fleet Station Alternatives in the Gulf of Guinea (2007)

SEA-11A Port Security in 2012 (2007)
SEA-11B Riverine Force Sustainment 2012 (2007)

SEA-10A Joint Fire Support in 2020 (2006)
SEA-10B Riverine Warfare in 2010 (2006)

SEA-9A Rapid Response Command and Control (R2C2) (2006)
SEA-9B Ship Anti Ballistic Missile Response (SABR) (2006)

SEA-8 Littoral Undersea Warfare 2025 (2005)

SEA-7 Maritime Domain Protection in the Straits of Malacca (2005)

SEA-6 Joint Expeditionary Logistics (2004)

SEA-5 Maritime Dominance in the Littorals (2004)

SEA-4 Expeditionary Warfare - Force Protection (2004)

SEA-3 Expeditionary Warfare - Defense of the Sea Base (2003)

SEA-2 CROSSBOW 2 (2002)

SEA-1 CROSSBOW (2001)