Operate and maintain submarine torpedo and missile fire control systems. Calculate firing solutions and maintain weapons control equipment.
ASVAB AR+MK+EI+GS: 222
Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Confirm with a recruiter.
Fire Control Technicians run the combat control systems on a submarine, the computers and consoles that turn sensor information into a usable tactical picture. Watches are stood in the control room, tracking contacts, maintaining the plot and keeping the system healthy while the boat operates submerged. Between watches you work maintenance on consoles, networks, interfaces and the mechanical equipment tied to the weapons systems. A deployment means months without daylight, a fixed watch cycle that ignores whether it is Tuesday or midnight, and mail that arrives rarely if at all. Time in port is different again, with upkeep periods, system testing alongside contractors and preparation for the next patrol.
You learn to operate, align and troubleshoot a complex real time computing system whose inputs arrive from sonar, navigation and the ship's own sensors. Digital electronics, networking, interface troubleshooting and system level fault isolation all become working knowledge rather than vocabulary you once memorized. The tactical side teaches geometry, relative motion and careful estimation from incomplete data, which is genuinely analytical work with a clock running. You also learn formal test procedures, certification checks and the documentation that proves equipment performs the way it was designed to. Submarine qualification adds a working understanding of every major system on the boat, not only the ones you maintain.
Working inside a hull with no view out builds a specific composure and the ability to track the world entirely through instruments. You develop analytical patience, because a contact solution improves slowly and impatience reliably produces answers that are wrong. The watch rotation teaches you to be sharp on demand at hours that have nothing to do with your body clock. Living in very close quarters with the same hundred people for months forces a practical tolerance and a great deal of self control. Submariners also acquire a quiet confidence that comes from running a machine with no margin for casual mistakes.
Combat systems experience reads to employers as industrial controls, test engineering and systems integration work, which are all well paid fields. Defense contractors who build and sustain these systems hire former technicians as field engineers, test technicians and integration specialists, and your clearance is an asset there. Process control and automation roles in manufacturing, utilities and energy want people who can troubleshoot instrumentation and networked control systems under pressure. Test laboratories and calibration shops value the formal procedure discipline that the submarine force demands of everyone who touches equipment. An engineering or computer science degree on service benefits is a natural next move, and many technicians take exactly that route.
Published personal accounts with source links. Each describes an individual experience, not a typical assignment or a guarantee of your own experience.
“I was presented with the options of the aviation electronic computer field or submarine electronic computer field.”
“Since I had never been on a submarine before, I decided to give it a shot.”
“My first chief, Frederick Ackwith, truly allowed us to learn and flourish as technicians.”
“When we were truly stumped, he would step in and show us what right looked like and set an excellent example for us to emulate.”
Quotes are from U.S. government public-domain news stories (DVIDS, army.mil and other official sources). Individuals and units are named as reported at time of publication.
Your day begins in the fire control spaces of the submarine running diagnostics on the torpedo and missile control systems. You maintain and operate the weapons control equipment, calculate firing solutions from track data, and rehearse attack sequences during drills. Troubleshooting circuit cards and coordinating with sonar and the fire control party defines your watches on the boat.
No suitable exact-MOS or related career-field video has been verified for this page yet. No unrelated video or search-results page is substituted.
$43,902–$74,948
2026 basic pay only; the same grade and service time pay the same across jobs. Promotions are assumed, not promised. Excludes allowances, bonuses and special pays.
Possibilities for serving Sailors, including those in support roles—not guaranteed admission or awards. Individual eligibility, assignment, selection, available training or competition places and successful qualification apply.
Assignment-dependent qualification and insignia earned aboard a qualifying surface ship or afloat staff—not automatically awarded for this rating.
For enlisted Sailors in an eligible surface assignment, including support ratings. Complete the command's current qualification standards, assessments and approval process. A shore or submarine assignment alone does not establish eligibility; confirm current enrollment rules with the command.
Assignment-dependent aviation qualification and insignia; support Sailors may qualify at authorized aviation commands.
Requires a qualifying aviation assignment or an authorized support-command arrangement, required in-rating technical qualifications and command approval. Current enrollment and pay-grade prerequisites must be checked; this is not a promotion or a badge awarded just for holding this rating.
Restricted to qualifying expeditionary assignments; recognizes tested field and unit-specific proficiency, including support duties.
Requires assignment to a command authorized to administer EXW and completion of its general and unit-specific personnel qualification standards and approval process. Published NSW program evidence establishes this route, not that every Navy unit offers it. Confirm current command authorization and prerequisites.
Sources reviewed . Confirm current course and badge requirements with official school guidance and your unit.
For Navy FT Fire Control Technician, official service-wide guidance and any exact feeder-list matches are distinguished below from unverified specialty-specific requirements. Ranks are not separate jobs, and these possibilities are not guaranteed promotions or available contracts.
Examples of higher service ranks
These are service-wide rank names, not a verified promotion ladder for this specialty. Examples are not exhaustive; appointments sharing a pay grade are not additional promotion steps.
Official military rank referenceThe Navy directs enlisted Sailors to rating-specific Learning and Development Roadmaps (LaDRs), and officers to their community managers and officer career-progression guidance. Rating conversion and commissioning are separate application paths, not automatic promotions.
Navy career planning: LaDRs, officer progression, and commissioningService-level application reference—not a verified next step for this listing
Limited Duty Officer (LDO) and Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) appointments require separate applications and program-specific qualifications. The reviewed active-duty page contains FY28 cycle requirements, not Reserve eligibility. Its 1 October 2026 application deadline has passed; this is not an open application offer or a verified designator match for this listing.
Navy active-duty LDO/CWO applicant requirementsSpecialty-specific advancement, senior assignments, and eligibility for a different personnel category have not been verified for this listing. No feeder eligibility or automatic transition to another specialty is implied.
Advancement depends on current service rules, performance, required education, qualifications, selection, and authorized positions—not simply years served. Confirm current requirements with an official recruiter or career counselor.
Related military jobs below are for exploration, not promised progression or confirmed transfer paths.
Sources reviewed 2026-10-03. This is a partial evidence review, not verification of every advancement route for this specialty. Source retrieval dates do not replace policy effective dates.
Career-field mappings, not automatic qualifications. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024 national medians). O*NET links explain each occupation; military experience does not guarantee a job or salary.
Operate and maintain submarine torpedo and missile fire control systems. Calculate firing solutions and maintain weapons control equipment.
Fire Control Technicians run the combat control systems on a submarine, the computers and consoles that turn sensor information into a usable tactical picture. Watches are stood in the control room, tracking contacts, maintaining the plot and keeping the system healthy while the boat operates submerged. Between watches you work maintenance on consoles, networks, interfaces and the mechanical equipment tied to the weapons systems. A deployment means months without daylight, a fixed watch cycle that ignores whether it is Tuesday or midnight, and mail that arrives rarely if at all. Time in port is different again, with upkeep periods, system testing alongside contractors and preparation for the next patrol.
You learn to operate, align and troubleshoot a complex real time computing system whose inputs arrive from sonar, navigation and the ship's own sensors. Digital electronics, networking, interface troubleshooting and system level fault isolation all become working knowledge rather than vocabulary you once memorized. The tactical side teaches geometry, relative motion and careful estimation from incomplete data, which is genuinely analytical work with a clock running. You also learn formal test procedures, certification checks and the documentation that proves equipment performs the way it was designed to. Submarine qualification adds a working understanding of every major system on the boat, not only the ones you maintain.
Combat systems experience reads to employers as industrial controls, test engineering and systems integration work, which are all well paid fields. Defense contractors who build and sustain these systems hire former technicians as field engineers, test technicians and integration specialists, and your clearance is an asset there. Process control and automation roles in manufacturing, utilities and energy want people who can troubleshoot instrumentation and networked control systems under pressure. Test laboratories and calibration shops value the formal procedure discipline that the submarine force demands of everyone who touches equipment. An engineering or computer science degree on service benefits is a natural next move, and many technicians take exactly that route.
ASVAB AR+MK+EI+GS: 222. This is the catalog's listed requirement, not an individual eligibility decision. Confirm the current standard and any exceptions with the service.
This specialty can be pursued through an initial enlistment, subject to eligibility and available contracts. Confirm the current status of this specific classification with an official recruiter.
Catalog sources consulted: 2026-09-26. This is not an entry-by-entry verification date. No record-specific verification date is recorded. Occupation audit evidence reviewed: 2026-09-26; this does not re-verify every requirement.
Official branch occupation evidence
Occupation identified. This occupation was identified in the cited source. This does not verify requirements, benefits, or a current opening.
Navy enlisted occupational standards, NAVPERS 18068F, July 2026, Appendix B (rating enumeration) · reviewed 2026-09-26
Confirmed. Catalog evidence is not an inventory of open contracts.
No dated public inventory confirmed a currently open recruiting contract for this role. This does not mean there are no openings. Confirm current eligibility and offers with an official recruiter.
Bonus-listed — Navy, as of 2026-09-27. Max bonus $20,000Published amount: $10,000Max bonus $20,000 is a display ceiling, including unconfirmed figures and illustrative estimates, not a confirmed offer. Separate programs are not added together.
Latest source review — 2026-10-25
The October 2 CNRC message, effective for initial classification/reclassification after October 3, supersedes the August message and confirms the Navy.com source rates. Funding is stated through December 11, 2026; individual contracts remain unverified. Most source rates cover October–December FY27, while named special-operations and nuclear programs cover October–September FY27. Its shipping table lists MU $10,000 and Nuclear Field $20,000, differing from the website's older up-to-$25,000 shipping headline. The table's FY27 window is October 1, 2026–September 30, 2027; the surrounding prose has inconsistent year wording. Elevated-PST bonus remains $20,000. The $140,000 headline includes loan repayment, not cash signing bonus alone. AECF/AV-to-rating mapping conflicts remain unresolved.
Historical amounts are retained. A displayed maximum is not a guaranteed payment. Confirm current written contract terms.
Bonus range review — 2026-10-10
Current published source rate: $20,000 (SECF-5YO group, not a guaranteed individual rating). Conditional planning range: $0–$20,000. $0 means no eligible or available bonus; the upper endpoint is from the listed program amount, not a likely payout or guaranteed offer. Historical/expired amounts do not verify a current offer. Do not add separate programs without written stacking authorization. Older amounts are retained as historical evidence; use this dated source comparison rather than assuming they are still payable. Source-rate payment follows qualifying A/C school completion.
Range evidenceSECF-5YO group; not a guaranteed individual rating. October 2 message applies after October 3, 2026 classification/reclassification. Source rate requires October–December FY27 shipping. Source-rate payment requires specified training/NEC milestones. Funding stated through December 11, 2026; current individual contracts not verified. Older amounts remain historical evidence. Confirm governing contract before relying on a range.
Latest source review — 2026-10-25
The October 2 CNRC message, effective for initial classification/reclassification after October 3, supersedes the August message and confirms the Navy.com source rates. Funding is stated through December 11, 2026; individual contracts remain unverified. Most source rates cover October–December FY27, while named special-operations and nuclear programs cover October–September FY27. Its shipping table lists MU $10,000 and Nuclear Field $20,000, differing from the website's older up-to-$25,000 shipping headline. The table's FY27 window is October 1, 2026–September 30, 2027; the surrounding prose has inconsistent year wording. Elevated-PST bonus remains $20,000. The $140,000 headline includes loan repayment, not cash signing bonus alone. AECF/AV-to-rating mapping conflicts remain unresolved.
Historical amounts are retained. A displayed maximum is not a guaranteed payment. Confirm current written contract terms.
Range review 2026-10-25: Conditional planning range: $0–$20,000. $0 means no eligible or available bonus; the upper endpoint is from the listed program amount, not a likely payout or guaranteed offer. Historical/expired amounts do not verify a current offer. Do not add separate programs without written stacking authorization.
Reviewed 2026-10-25; program ends 2026-12-31. Not a guaranteed offer.
SourcePublished enlistment program: $10,000.
A listed program does not guarantee a bonus, job assignment or an available slot. Confirm your exact contract, component, ship date and eligibility with a recruiter.
Navy.com enlistment bonus listDeployment likelihood: Moderate*
* Estimated. Rank progression and specialty-pay eligibility are illustrative assumptions. Deployment likelihood, when shown, is inferred from similar specialties in the branch and career field, not a published specialty deployment rate.
Descriptions may change. No military role is free from risk of injury or death, including non-combat work. Catalog review dates do not establish current openings or re-verification of every requirement.
Recruiting signals reflect what each branch published on the dates shown. They are not offers, and they do not mean a contract is open for you. Eligibility depends on your ASVAB scores, medical qualification, security clearance eligibility, and ship date. Confirm everything with an official recruiter. See our Disclaimer and Terms.