SAN DIEGO — Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command has changed its name to Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWARSYSCOM), reinforcing its commitment to outpacing adversaries in information warfare, the command said in a release.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson announced the name change at the Information Warfare Senior Leadership Symposium in Washington, D.C., on June 3. The change is effective immediately.
“We have been on a steady drumbeat since the issuance of the Design for Maintaining Maritime Superiority to further normalize information warfare into the way we do operations and warfighting in the Navy,” Richardson said. “Today, we will take an important step in that direction as we rename the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command to the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command. This new name more accurately describes the full totality of the mission, supporting naval warfare — from seabed to space.”
The intent of the name change is to recognize the power that information warfare brings to the fight. The change aligns the command name with the command mission to identify, develop, deliver and sustain information warfare capabilities and services that enable naval, joint, coalition and other national missions.
“In this era of ‘Great Power Competition,’ information is a fundamental element of warfare, an essential component of the Navy’s strategy, and a warfare area that transcends the traditional domains of air, sea, land and space,” said NAVWARSYSCOM’s commander, Rear Adm. Christian Becker. “This name change underscores the importance of information warfare in providing our fleet with an unfair advantage in today’s complex and increasingly competitive security environment.”
In addition to more accurately reflecting the focus and core capabilities of the command, the name change will bring renewed clarity of mission and purpose for the warfighter, stakeholders across the fleet, industry partners, the broader information warfare community and the Naval Research and Development Establishment, according to the release.
“In this era of ‘Great Power Competition,’ information is a fundamental element of warfare, an essential component of the Navy’s strategy, and a warfare area that transcends the traditional domains of air, sea, land and space.”
Rear Adm. Christian Becker, NAVWARSYSCOM COMMANDER
“We have been at the center of incorporating advanced information warfare technologies that enable new operational concepts for decades,” NAVWARSYSCOM Executive Director Patrick Sullivan said. “Information warfare has been and will continue to be our central focus, and now our name accurately reflects this focus.”
In February 2019, NAVWARSYCOM’s two Echelon III commands, formerly “systems centers” in Charleston, South Carolina and San Diego changed their names to Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic and NIWC Pacific, respectively. While this move reflects clarity of mission and purpose, it also aligns the centers’ naming architecture with Naval Air Systems Command’s air warfare centers and Naval Sea Systems Command’s surface and undersea warfare centers.
The change to NAVWARSYSCOM is the second name change in the command’s history. In May 1966, the Department of the Navy established the Naval Electronic Systems Command. The command was one of five systems commands placed under the Naval Material Command. In May 1985, the Department of the Navy disestablished the Naval Material Command, and the Naval Electronic Systems Command became Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, an Echelon II command under the CNO. NAVWARSYSCOM consists of more than 11,000 active duty military and civil service professionals around the world and close to the fleet to keep NAVWARSYSCOM at the forefront of research, engineering and acquisition to provide and sustain information warfare capabilities to the fleet.
