US Navy plans to roll out digital ID system for sailors

The US Navy is in the process of rolling out a biometric multimodal digital ID system known as the Identity Dominance System (IDS). The system will be used in the Navy’s various units including visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) ships, guided missile cruisers and destroyers, littoral combat ships, amphibious transport dock ships, dock landing ships, and patrol coastal ships. Using a handheld biometric reader, the IDS has the capacity to collect, match, store, and share identity information. This will be useful in enrolling, identifying, and verifying individuals during expeditionary operations. Biometric information will be matched against existing US government databases where persons of interest are involved.