University of Texas at Austin Receives Major US Navy Research Contract

University of Texas at Austin
Image: news.utexas.edu

Previously guiding High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd. in interim capacities, Patrick O’Connell has a background in administrative management spanning diverse public and private projects. As HS2’s interim program and strategy director, he oversaw the coordination and planning of a two-decade-long UK rail project budgeted at $85 billion. Patrick O’Connell presently serves as United States Navy chief of naval personnel, overseeing a business process and technology transformation effort focused on personnel management.

As reported in UT News, the US Navy is leading Department of Defense-affiliated academic institutions in developing next-generation technologies and systems. The navy recently awarded the University of Texas at Austin’s Applied Research Laboratories (ARL:UT) a $1.1 billion contract, to be administered by the Naval Sea Systems Command. This division within the US Navy is responsible for the construction, engineering, and maintenance of naval ships and submarines, including deployed combat systems.

The new contract builds on a long-standing relationship between ARL:UT and the US Navy. Ongoing federally funded research at ARL:UT includes the development of high-resolution sonar that enables unmanned and manned submersible platforms to safely navigate sea mines and other obstacles.

Aquila Air Traffic Management Works to Upgrade UK Military Airfields

Aquila Air Traffic Management Services Ltd
Image: aquila-atms.com

Presently the chief of naval personnel with the United States Navy, Patrick O’Connell has a wealth of project management experience spanning the public and private sectors, including as an interim program and strategy director with High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd. In his HS2 position, Patrick O’Connell focused on early implementation of an $85 billion United Kingdom high-speed rail network that is expected to reach completion in 2033.

Dr. O’Connell subsequently engaged as the chairman and CEO of Aquila Air Traffic Management Services Ltd. A NATS and Thales joint venture firm, Aquila secured a £1.5 billion UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) contract in 2014 to sustain and upgrade air traffic management capacities at military airfields spanning the UK and locations around the world. Part of the MoD’s Project Marshall, the contract lasts through 2022 and is part of a broader mandate to modernize in excess of 100 MoD locations. These include bases in the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, and Cyprus that currently exist within a technologically fragmented system.

The Aquila proposal was described as low risk and focused on transformation “with safety at its heart.” It is also characterized as having the potential to realize significant cost savings of approximately £1 billion over the contract lifetime.

US Navy Goes Ahead with Maritime Operations Center on the Black Sea

 

US Navy
Image: news.usni.org

Certified as a project management professional, Patrick O’Connell is a Washington, DC, executive with past experience as director of program and strategy at High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd. Building on his experience with HS2, Patrick O’Connell presently engages with the United States Navy as chief of naval personnel.

An ongoing US Navy project involves Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1 efforts to construct a maritime operations center on the Black Sea coast. Situated strategically in the vicinity of Odessa on Ukraine’s Ochakiv Naval Base, the $750,000 center will serve as an operational and planning hub, with uses that come to the fore during joint US-Ukrainian Sea Breeze military exercises each year.

The maritime operations center has a corollary aim of enhancing host nation defense capacities and bolstering European reassurance initiatives that ensure stability in the Black Sea region and beyond. Once completed, the facility will be operated by Ukrainian naval forces, as there are no plans for the permanent stationing of US forces there.