James Smerchansky (Navy)
PEO SUB
Naval Sea Systems Command
2531 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, VA 22242-5160

Voice: (703) 602-3143 Ext. 173
email: Smerchansky_James_H@hq.navsea.navy.mil

Jim Smerchansky has been the technical leader in the development of the Multipurpose Processor (MPP) through all three phases of the SBIR program. The MPP is a Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) based submarine sonar processor used to determine the location of other submarines and ships. In 1994, the Navy awarded the small firm DSR, Inc. of Fairfax, Virginia a $40 million contract to build three engineering development models of the MPP in support of the New Attack Submarine (NSSN) SSSN Program. This award culminated three years of effort from two Phase 1 SBIRs through a successful integrated proof-of-concept.

As a result of JimÕs efforts, subsequently the Navy decided to use the MPP technology to upgrade the sonar equipment on nearly all Navy submarines (SSN 688, 688I, and SSBN 726 [Trident] submarines). Full-scale production to provide MPPs to the submarine fleet is expected to begin within the next few months. The estimated production effort is over $50M. The MPP will replace existing, military-specific processors, providing 200 times the computing power at a fraction of the cost. Further, the MPP has also been embraced by the Research and Development community and serves as the foundation for over $25 million of Advanced Research annually. MPP variants have also been adopted by several other communities including the New Attack Submarine Simulation/Stimulation systems, which will invest provide nearly $10 million for development of a land-based test facility.

Jim has been the champion for the COTS-based MPP within the government, often resisting bureaucratic pressures to adhere to military specifications that would have resulted in procurement of an inferior and more expensive technology. He has established himself on the leading edge of transitioning submarine combat systems into the rapidly emerging world of Commercial-Off-the-Shelf electronics. The overarching goal of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (FASA) of 1994 was to use commercial items to fill DoD requirements to the greatest extent practical. The acquisition of COTS items provides benefits over and above the acquisition of uniquely developed items. Because of the size of the commercial market, commercial items offer price advantages resulting from economies of scale and price competition. Additionally, the commercial industrial base is an important resource, both for greater product availability and for access to state-of-the-art technology. The SBIRs which Jim spearheaded began several years prior to Acquisition Reform becoming the norm within the Department of Defense.

Jim is also the Technical Point of Contact for ten other SBIR topics, eight of which have gone to Phase 2 or beyond. He not only manages these topics as individual development efforts, but has integrated them into program plans which apply creative approaches to infusing new technology and greater performance into our current and new systems faster and cheaper. In the current environment of shrinking budgets, Jim is leading the effort to provide the fleet with the best technology at the lowest cost by using the SBIR program as an integral part of program planning.