Interview with the Chief of the Colombian Navy

In an unique meeting with Naval Information, Vice Admiral Rozo Obregón, Leader of the Colombian Navy, supplies an extensive consider the future of the Navy. With a concentrate on technical advancement, local collaboration, and Colombia’s enhancing international visibility, the admiral talks about the Navy’s calculated vision for the following years.

From reinforcing connections with bordering countries to broadening right into the Antarctic area, Vice Admiral Rozo Obregón details the enthusiastic objectives that will certainly form Colombia’s maritime protection and impact on the globe phase. This Q&An uses a deep study the functional and geopolitical concerns of among Latin America’s a lot of vibrant marine pressures.

NN: Admiral, can you please inform us regarding your calculated vision for the Colombian Navy in the following years?

VADM Rozo: The Colombian Navy in the following years will certainly remain to settle itself as a pressure of local forecast and impact, with a concentrate on the application of brand-new technical devices and progressed capacities to make sure the protection and protection of the nation, therefore adding to the growth of nationwide passions.

With a varied functional framework, the Colombian Navy via different Surface area, Submarine, Shore Guard, Militaries and Naval Aeronautics Units, enables it to react efficiently to modern obstacles and subsequently, we presume a dedication to the development of Colombia, revealed in the continuous job to restore, upgrade and preserve the capacities of our devices to satisfy in a prompt way the requirements of the Country, in the wide range of the protection and protection of the maritime region.

This thorough initiative not just advertises security in the nation, however likewise improves local cooperation, declaring Colombia’s duty as a principal in the naval atmosphere. The Colombian Navy is devoted to a future in which functional quality and advancement are essential columns in the gratification of its Constitutional duty.

NN: COTECMAR and Damen Shipyard lately authorized an agreement to develop SIGMA 10514 frigates for the Colombian Navy. Can you please inform us regarding the target, timeline, and your assumptions on this job?

VADM Rozo: Last August 10th of 2024 In the city of Cartagena, aboard the training ship ARC “Gloria” we commemorated the historical finalizing in between COTECMAR and DAMEN that launched the agreement for the stipulation of technological solutions, supply of products, devices and technological support of what will certainly be the initial frigate (Strategic Surface Platform – PES) built by COTECMAR to offer the Colombian Navy.

This job occurs from the demand of the Colombian Navy to restore its calculated capacities of the surface area pressure and to reinforce the nationwide marine market via innovation and expertise transfer procedures.

The job is presently in the design stage; building of the initial ship will certainly start in 2026 and it will certainly be appointed in 2030. Thinking about the value of the job for the nation in regards to protection capacities, commercial fortifying and work generation, to name a few variables of nationwide passion, we remain to take care of sources that will certainly enable us to proceed the predicted purchases for the substitute of the fleet.

This vessel will certainly end up being the biggest and most complicated marine building job ever before carried out in our nation, therefore developing a turning point in the background of the Naval Sector in Latin America and will certainly make it possible for the Colombian Navy to have the functional capacities needed to safeguard the maritime passions of Colombians and add to the purposes of the nation’s efficient makeover.

The objective of the Agreement authorized in between COTECMAR and DAMEN is the stipulation of Technical Providers for the Useful Design and Change Design Stage I, supply of Products, Tools and Technical Help for the shipbuilding of the PES in Colombia by COTECMAR for the Colombian Navy (Armada de Colombia) as End Individual.

Our assumption is to effectively finish the Job by developing the initial frigate made in Colombia, which will certainly add to the technical advancement of the Colombian Navy and COTECMAR. This job, arranged to be finished in 2030, will certainly bring advantages to the Colombian individuals via the generation of work, growth of innovation and transfer of expertise.

NN: As the local collaboration has actually come to be progressively crucial for maritime protection and the total security of Latin America. Could you show us exactly how the Colombian Navy is reinforcing partnerships with bordering nations in the area and what initiatives are being made to improve Colombia’s picture on the international phase via its marine procedures?

VADM Rozo: Mentioning Latin America, being the States with the closest geographical closeness, they share not just naval boundaries, however likewise usual protection risks, such as global the mob, prohibited, unreported and uncontrolled angling, uneven movement, in addition to usual tasks such as the defense of aquatic environments, nevertheless, it should be comprehended from 2 various viewpoints, on the one hand Central America and the Caribbean and on the various other South America and the Southern Cone. Under the participating protection plan, reciprocal relationships with Central America have actually traditionally been targeted at dealing with usual local obstacles and passions such as the battle versus multi-crime, with focus on medication trafficking and associated criminal offenses, uneven movement, prohibited, unreported and uncontrolled (IUU) angling, altruistic support and all-natural catastrophes. Nevertheless, the mixed procedures and workouts, the energetic management duty in training and education and learning and in the sale and upkeep of marine capacities via COTECMAR, are just the device to attain real calculated purpose of the National Navy in the Caribbean of being a Navy with local forecast and impact.

In ecological issues, as discussed over, Colombia via the National Navy has the obligation to safeguard the Seaflower Biosphere Get, which, as the biggest book on the planet, shields 65,000 km2 of aquatic and seaside environments, consisting of reef, mangroves, coral reef shallows, seagrasses and marshes. This biodiversity is crucial for food protection, the manufacturing of resources, environment defense and the preservation of jeopardized types. For their component, the origins, historic connections and boundary and social link with the nations of South America have actually caused encounter usual obstacles and arising risks that impact the area, causing reinforce participating protection in regards to marine diplomacy, reciprocity, interoperability and actions to boost and develop shared depend on via the different tools of reciprocal and multilateral collaboration at the maritime and marine degree, for a schedule that consists of decreasing the variables of instability on the boundary, combating multi-crime with focus on maritime and river medication trafficking and environmental management in the various nautical, river and Amazonian environments, concentrating on lines of collaboration versus Illegal Unreported and Uncontrolled Angling (IUU), adding to the control of the reasons for logging, environmental management and the ecological shift from Energetic Logging Centers to Lasting Woodland Growth Centers.

This way, top priority has actually been provided to locations of collaboration such as technical growth, marine procedures and workouts, calculated knowledge, info exchange, education and learning, direction and training, scientific research, innovation and advancement, logistics and marine market, defense of human life mixed-up (search and rescue), in addition to collaboration in river and Antarctic issues. On the various other hand, Colombia’s forecast in the Pacific Sea is essential to reinforce its geostrategic setting in the area and advertise financial and industrial growth.

The forecast in the direction of the Pacific container enables Colombia to make use of its natural deposits, consisting of a variety of aquatic sources and a wide array of fish and fish and shellfish types, along with possibilities to reinforce profession partnerships and multilateral collaboration rooms such as the Pacific Partnership. It is consequently that locations such as Malpelo are an essential geopolitical possession for Colombia, permitting it to work out sovereignty, safeguard the atmosphere, get worldwide acknowledgment, comply regionally and battle prohibited tasks, reinforcing its setting as a local maritime power and at some point attaining territorial development via its feasible extensive continental rack.

NN: Admiral, Colombia has actually been enhancing its visibility in the Antarctic area, which is important for clinical study and geopolitical passions. Could you specify on the Colombian Navy’s duty in sustaining Colombian initiatives in Antarctica and exactly how this visibility adds to local and international efforts in the location?

VADM Rozo: Colombia’s clinical payment in Antarctica is led by the Colombian Antarctic Program (POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE), which given that its production has actually had the continuous assistance of the Colombian Navy, where we as an Organization belonged to the procedure of production and style of this State job.

The nationwide objective with this area of the world is simply clinical. Because of this, our duty as Colombian Navy is to sustain the growth of nationwide scientific research in an area with excellent troubles, that is why we add in a double duty: clinical and logistic.

Relating to the clinical duty, via the scientific research and innovation element, the Colombian Navy creates study jobs concentrated on the security of procedures and technical growth in Antarctica. This enables the Colombian Navy to delight in a differential element at the local degree, given that there are extremely couple of stars in the protection field that execute clinical tasks in this area. This likewise reveals the vision of our Naval Establishment, which connects scientific research to the gratification of its constitutional required.

In regards to logistics, via marine and marine aeronautics capacities, the Navy promotes the growth of the Colombian Antarctic Program aboard marine devices, such as the ARC “20 de Julio” or the ARC “Simón Bolívar” of the Colombian Maritime General Directorate, to ensure that our nation can remain to execute study jobs via the 4 scientific research teams of the Scientific Board for Antarctic Research Study (MARK); highlighting that the involvement of the Colombian Navy adds to the building of nationwide freedom to establish tasks in Antarctica.

Similarly, these marine devices reinforce worldwide collaboration, as they offer assistance for scientists from various other nations to carry out study aboard our systems. Similarly, assistance is given to nations appropriate to the Antarctic Treaty System for the transportation of aspects for the supply of bases situated in the Antarctic Peninsula.

Finally, having the freedom to establish explorations enables our nation and the Colombian Antarctic Program to add to the preservation and conservation of Antarctica via the study jobs that are executed, that include advancements and research studies on the oceanographic characteristics in between the South Pacific and Southern Sea containers, functional and naval security, in addition to the research of water level increase, the visibility of mercury in aquatic animals and the metrology of microplastics, to name a few jobs.

The polar areas are an important axis forever on earth. The influence that environment adjustment produces, such as the rise in water level and greater temperature levels, will straight or indirectly impact our nationwide areas also if we reside in the tropics. Moreover, these locations are geopolitically calculated, because of their importance for worldwide preservation and scientific research, in a treaty most of us acknowledge is an international instance of collaboration in between countries. Besides, the White Continent is a nationwide calculated passion and Colombia looks for to advertise collaboration as a Regional Leader in aquatic clinical study and preservation, as you understand, in Colombia we have 30% of the nationwide maritime region maintained as marine-protected locations, which generates food and organic solutions for greater than 360 countless Caribbean and pacific citizens around Colombian sprinkled, and the future of this environments depends of the choices that mankind will certainly consider Antarctica. Within this situation and under the structure of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty and the standards of the Colombian Antarctic Program, the Navy looks for to:– Add to the Colombian State getting the group of consultatory participant to have a voice and enact the choices taken within the extent of the Antarctic Treaty System.– Add to the growth of scientific research and therefore recognize the links of that continent with the nationwide region.– Enhance interoperability with various other navies and establish capacities in polar waters.– Share Colombian maritime passions and job the Navy’s involvement in the various international Antarctic online forums, such as COMNAP (The Council of Supervisors of National Antarctic Programs), where the primary functional choices are made.

NN: As contemporary war progressively depends on arising innovations such as unmanned systems, expert system, and cyber capacities, exactly how is the Colombian Navy adjusting to these innovations, and what actions are being required to incorporate these innovations right into its functional method?

VADM Rozo: In order to react to exactly how the Colombian Navy is adjusting to technical advancements, there is a growth strategy that ponders, within the possible circumstances, the innovation and purchase of capacities straightened with the arising and turbulent innovations of the 4th Industrial Change. Similarly, there are programs and jobs in implementation targeted at reinforcing Study, Growth and Technology (R&D&I), such as the production of the “Facility for Naval Technological Growth– CEDNAV”, concentrated on Naval Solutions, the production of the “Naval Scientific Research, Modern Technology and Technology Head Office” and the technical innovation of the Naval Fleet via a worked with deal with the nationwide market and the scholastic field, looking for technical sovereignty to improve the growth and development of the nation with protection.

The 4th commercial transformation has actually brought with it a collection of technical advancements that make establishments encounter continuous obstacles and adjustments that need to be made to make them lasting with time and when faced with competitors. It is consequently that the Colombian Navy looks for to improve its capacities based upon the appropriation of brand-new innovations and therefore, offer an ample administration of its pressure framework.

The Colombian Navy developed a tactical strategy that is being executed slowly via an institutional technical community that is predicted in purposes and objectives for 4 years in the direction of the year 2042, in which all the scholastic, clinical, technological and functional institutional abilities and experiences of the Navy are incorporated, consisting of the involvement or payments of exclusive business and colleges, to establish particular marine purposes of technical improvement that enable decreasing threats and increasing functional performance and performance.

Presently, we have actually created capacities in info systems and software application growth, getting to a high level of technical self-reliance. This freedom has actually enabled the production of sophisticated technical services with our very own sources, shown in the digitalization and automation of procedures. A crucial instance of these advancements is the growth of the Orion System, which incorporates medication trafficking info from greater than 62 nations worldwide, signing up informs and functional outcomes with real-time visualization and surveillance.

Furthermore, arising innovations such as unmanned airborne or marine lorries (drones), expert system (AI) and digital war are redefining contemporary war. Drones make it possible for specific reconnaissance and strike procedures, while AI maximizes decision-making and information evaluation in actual time. Digital war, on the other hand, hinders opponent interactions and systems, enhancing the performance of pressures. These innovations enhance responsiveness, lower danger and make it possible for a lot more innovative techniques, changing the nature of problem and army method.

We have actually from another location manned airplane systems that are released from our ships in maritime and river protection goals, however within this innovation strategy, it is considered to endeavor right into various other lines of study and advancement, getting expert system capacities, automation of the marine tactical network (CMS), the C4i2, protection and cyber functional capacities, search and rescue distress systems mixed-up and unmanned tactical systems, which as from the Sábalo job (2015) are executed to run in maritime, river, land and marine air circumstances to execute discovery and neutralization of these brand-new risks, for instance, hydrophone systems to identify undersea marine drones, sensing units and interaction devices immune to disturbance, such as jamming.

Additionally, the Navy is performing r & d in order to execute cybernetic systems that enable the devastation of these brand-new risks, although there are numerous alternatives originated from technical advancements, the Navy looks for to prevent reliance on exterior systems (satellites, repeater websites), keeping a continuous concentrate on the training and re-training of employees in standard interactions systems.

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