COVID Accelerates Navy Test of Telemaintenance on Carriers - USNI News

If the COVID-19 pandemic has forced people to get comfortable with the idea of teleworking and telehealth doctor visits, it may have also pushed the Navy to embrace the concept of telemaintenance for ships at sea.

The Navy is testing out a distance maintenance tool on two aircraft carriers that has been in the works for the last couple years but was fast-tracked to the fleet due to pandemic-related travel restrictions that make it difficult to move technical experts around the globe to support deployed ships at sea.

Though carrier strike groups deploy with a significant amount of in-house repair and troubleshooting expertise on staff, sometimes problems come up that can’t be fixed without the help of experts back at Navy warfare centers, fleet headquarters or other ashore commands. Distance Communications Maintenance System (DCoMS) would allow a maintainer on a carrier at sea to have a secure video chat with an expert and try to make the repair with virtual assistance, rather than keeping the system down until an expert can be flown into the region – and, with COVID restrictions, quarantined for 14 days before being brought aboard the carrier.