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Cyber, Electronic Warfare Blur Tactical, Strategic Lines Industry News AOC News & Events AOC Chapter News and Events

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CALL FOR PAPERS: 54th Annual AOC International Symposium and Convention, November 28-30 in Washington, D.C.
"Innovation and Change in Electromagnetic Warfare"

The electromagnetic environment is changing at an increasing pace, and thus the importance of electronic warfare (EW) system adaptability, flexibility, and innovation has also increased. Not only are innovative technologies greatly needed, but the Industry and EW Community itself needs to change organizationally to embrace innovative ideas, technologies, and tactics – and at a significantly faster pace. Innovation is more than just technology refresh, it is also culture refresh.

The 54th Annual AOC International Symposium and Convention will focus specifically on these ideas and provide Industry, Government, and Militaries a world-class forum to address how we should change and innovate as an EW community. The Symposium will highlight some of the most advanced and innovative technologies on the horizon and discuss how organizational change can be embraced to be more agile and engender more calculated risk taking. Talks will focus on what challenges are currently in the way and some stories of how change is currently being implemented.

Upgrades to our systems, as well as our acquisition cultures, is vital to maintain (and in some cases, regain) our electromagnetic warfare superiority.

CALL FOR PAPERS
The 54th Annual AOC International Symposium and Convention will be focusing this year's Technical Sessions on Innovation as the overarching theme. There will be four (4) topic area Technical Sessions representing the very latest in EW technologies and innovations. To that end, we are requesting abstracts for paper presentation against any of the four (4) topic areas specifically. The Technical Sessions are titled:

1) Innovations in Modular Multi-Mission EW/SIGINT/COMMS Open Systems Architectures
2) Innovations in Software Defined Radios/Transceivers
3) Innovations in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
4) Innovations in Jammer Technologies

Deadline for Submission of Paper Abstracts: July 31

Call for Papers Details
Symposium Details

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CONGRATULATIONS to the 2017 AOC Award Winners!
The AOC will recognize the premier leaders in EW, IO and EMS Operations fields throughout our 54th Annual Symposium and Convention. Please join us in celebrating these award winners for their exemplary service to our community. The Gold Medal Award is the highest award given by the AOC for outstanding advances and contributions in all fields of EW and IO. The Gold Medal Award will be presented during the Opening Session on Tuesday, November 28th. The Hal Gershanoff Silver Medal Award is presented to an AOC member to recognize outstanding service in furthering the goals of the Association or its Chapter Organization(s). It is the highest award given to a member for service to the AOC. The Hal Gershanoff Silver Medal, the Colonel Anton D. Brees Lifetime Service Awards, and the Joseph W. Kearney Award will be presented at the Annual Banquet on Wednesday, November 29th. All other Individual awards will be presented at separate venues.

Full List of Award Winners
AOC Annual Symposium and Convention Page

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PRESENTATIONS DUE JULY 14: 3rd Annual Cyber Electromagnetic Activity (CEMA) Conference, October 16-19
October 16-19, 2017 | Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD
"The Multi-Domain Battle: A Combined Arms Approach to Enabling Maneuver through CEMA Operations"

This year's focus will be on the emerging Joint Army/USMC Multi-Domain Battle concept and the implications with respect to CEMA. The MDB entails a combined arms approach for ground combat operations against a sophisticated peer enemy threat in the 2025-2040 timeframe. Building on current service and joint doctrine, the MDB requires flexible and resilient ground formations that project combat power into the land, air, maritime, space, and cyberspace domains. It is a continued evolution of the combined arms methodology to include not only those capabilities of the physical domains, but places even greater emphasis on space, cyberspace, and other contested areas such as the EMS, the information environment, and the cognitive dimension of warfare. As for the role of CEMA in the MDB, it's about creating and exploiting exploit temporary windows of advantage in and presenting adversaries with multiple dilemmas in the spectrum across time/space with an intensity and duration of our choosing. Acknowledging that the world is very different now with more capable near-peer adversaries who are able to contest all physical domains as well as cyberspace, we need to recognize that and challenge the CEMA community of interest for novel, adaptive and innovative capability solutions in EW, Cyber, SIGINT and other related technology areas. This is just the nature of the current environment.

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS: Due JULY 14
The CEMA 2017 conference committee is soliciting original papers from the United States and Five Eyes Nations, Government, Academia, Industry, Operators, and Subject Matter Experts to discuss current and emerging trends in Electronic Warfare, Cyber, Signals Intelligence, and Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations. Conference presentations may be classified TS/SCI US Only, Secret Releasable FVEYS or Unclassified//FOUO (please indicate which classification you are submitting for as we will have multiple sessions at various classification levels); however, abstracts must be unclassified.

All who attend will gain a better understanding with respect to current and future threats, emerging requirements, technological advances, policy, and potential opportunities for collaboration. You are invited to submit an abstract of presentation that align with the following topics:

1. Cyberspace Effects Cell – User Perspectives (17/29 series, and 25E only)
2. Emerging Threats, Capability Gaps, and Requirements
3. CEMA Contribution to the Multi-Domain Battle Concept
4. CEMA Programs and Acquisition Initiatives
5. Rapid Capabilities in Support of Urgent Needs
6. Warfighting Perspective
7. CEMA Science & Technology Trends
8. Experimentation, Exercises and Training
9. Joint, International and Industry Perspectives and Opportunities
10. Advanced Technology & Special Interest (TS/SCI)

Please forward abstracts Ms. Christine Armstrong at armstrong@crows.org by 14 July 2017. Abstracts are limited to one page of text or 400 words.

Conference Details

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CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS: 2nd Annual Electromagnetic Maneuver Warfare Systems Engineering and Acquisition Conference, September 26-28
Our adversaries are using ubiquitous and cheap technology to further develop cyber warfare as well as advance and proliferate electromagnetic spectrum capabilities. Electromagnetic Maneuver Warfare (EMW) is the Navy's warfighting approach to gain a decisive military advantage in the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) to enable freedom of action across all Navy mission areas. Success demands a holistic system of systems focus looking not only at the systems themselves but also the "interstitial" space which is the dimension of the systems. EMW will require coordination and simultaneous integration across all domains (land, sea, subsurface, air, space, and cyber). EMW, in essence, means leveraging the cyberspace domain and the full electromagnetic spectrum for both offensive and defensive effects.

EMW is not a program, or system, or even a refined concept of operations. It is an emerging operational approach, one we must master to fully understand the battlespace. We must then use that awareness to better employ our own forces while altering the enemy's perception of the battlespace and minimizing his freedom to maneuver within it.

Mastering EMW will have commercial, financial and political impacts. It is important for program managers, engineers, and business planners to be aware of the Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution (PPBE) process, the tools used, and the complexities in performing defense acquisition and systems development in the emerging EMS environment in order to provide value to managing and performing program funding and mission success.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS



The Honorable Rob Wittman
US House of Representatives
(VA-1)

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS: DUE JULY 17
The conference committee is soliciting original presentations (both classified and unclassified) from US leaders, operators, subject matter experts and thinkers from the military, academia, and industry. You are invited to submit an unclassified abstract of presentation for the following topics:

Focus Question 1: How can combined EMW capabilities in the sea, air, and land domains generate enhanced combat effects?
Focus Question 2: How can a system of systems focus enhance EMW capabilities?
Focus Question 3: How will coordination and simultaneous integration across all domains (land, sea, subsurface, air, space, and cyber) improve EMW capabilities?
Focus Question 4: What tools, processes, innovations, techniques, and best practices can be used to support program managers and business planners in today’s unique and complex acquisition environment?

Abstracts for presentations must be unclassified, Distro C and in text format. Please forward abstracts to Ms. Christine Armstrong at armstrong@crows.org by July 17, 2017. Abstracts are limited to one page of text or 400 words.

Learn More..

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SAVE THE DATE: 6th Annual AOC Pacific Conference, October 17-19 in Honolulu
Non-Kinetic Fires (EW & IO) in the Multi-Domain Battle

The theme for the 2017 AOC Pacific Conference, "Non-Kinetic Fires (EW & IO) in the Multi-Domain Battle," will drive discussions that build upon those from the last two AOC Pacific Conferences, that examined the role of IO in countering/defeating Anti-Access and Area Denial (A2/AD) strategies (2016), IO in Hybrid Warfare (2015).

America’s current and potential adversaries in the Pacific regard EW and cyber as critical components of both peacetime hybrid warfare and A2/AD. An example of offensive cyber used as part of hybrid warfare is seen in the recent "Wanna Cry" computer attack, launched by North Korea’s 6,700-strong "hacking Army" which is based worldwide. The importance of effective electronic protect computer network defense was reinforced by MG Patricia Frost, who stated simply "Without the network, there is no Multi-Domain Battle." Our adversaries will make this difficult, as they seek to overmatch our EP and CND capabilities. It is a real concern among defense experts that adversaries and threat actors are employing automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in both offensive and defensive cyber capabilities at rates that exceeding that of the U.S.

Information Operations are applicable to MDB and the A2/AD challenge in peacetime competition, as well as during conflict in an A2/AD environment. The Phase 0 challenge for the IO Staff remains that of countering and defeating adversary IO that accompanies their theater shaping activities designed to change the battlefield geometry to facilitate a stronger adversary A2/AD theater posture. Successfully overcoming A2/AD strategies in war will require an effective IO supporting effort, coordinated by IO staffs who will need to plan for an orderly and prompt transition from crisis to conflict. In both of these frames, there are a great many questions to be answered about how to do this effectively Jointly, and with Allies and Partners.

The 2017 AOC Pacific Conference will once again provide a professional venue for both unclassified and classified discussions to find those answers.

Learn More...

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The National Electronics Museum created Go Fund Me site with the goal of raising $960.00 to sponsor 12 students for our Pioneer Camp 2017.

In 2007 the National Electronics Museum launched a successful summer program, for students ages 8-10, called Pioneer Camp. Kids spend two full days at the museum learning about science and engineering through museum tours, hands-on demos, and workshops. They practice teamwork, problem solving, and critical thinking plus they go home with a project they built themselves.

Tuition is $80.00 which covers the cost of supplies, salaries, and program design. I met with a group of educators who spoke highly of Pioneer Camp 2016. They mentioned there were students who wanted to attend but their parents could not afford the cost. This year we set aside 12 spots, out a total of 80, and reached out to the local schools to identify deserving students with a financial need. You can help by going to the site and donating any amount. If we exceed our goal that money will be set aside for future sponsorships.

Help us help these future engineers and scientists – make a donation today
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VISIT THE AOC JOB VACANCIES PAGE: Post Your Jobs
Employers can post on the Job Vacancies page for free. Follow the guide located HERE to provide information on posting a job listing. Submitted listings will remain live for 30 days. The AOC will not format or edit submitted postings, and will not respond to any questions from candidates concerning postings. We are hoping members and sponsors will take advantage of this free AOC service. Complete the guide linked above and submit to Tim Hutchison at hutchison@crows.org.

Job Vacancies Page

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One of today's frequently emerging adages is that the character of war is changing. The rapid pace of technologies and nascent domains of war such as cyberspace are turning what used to be tactical issues into issues of strategic importance. "If we don’t win the cyber/[electronic warfare] fight, then the maneuver fight may not matter because we may not get to it," Maj. Gen. Wilson Shoffner, director of operations at the Army's Rapid Capabilities Office, said in early June, noting that the decisive fight may well be the electromagnetic spectrum as opposed to maneuver. (C4ISRNet)
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Army soldiers tried to detect and fend off simulated Russian cyberattacks in a recent Cyber Quest exercise aimed at preparing the service for fast-evolving current and future cyber threats. The month-long Army event included as many as 27 vendors and more than 300 participants gathered to assess the ability of soldiers to detect anomalies and explore networks for evidence of a cyberattack; the scenarios included simulated attacks and various kinds of automated actions to replicate anticipated threats, intrusions and malicious actors. (Defense Systems)
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Imagine a Marine team that decimates enemy communications, spies on foes’ tanks moving toward grunts on the beach and protects American drones overhead from hackers bent on taking them over. Reflecting an ongoing evolution within the Marine Corps, Camp Pendleton on Thursday will stand up a new command modeled after its insignia – a cross shield and a hammer, protecting the force while relentlessly bludgeoning its foes. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
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The Army and Northrop Grumman are exploring new sensors and interceptor weapons able to destroy enemy drones using ground-based systems designed to track and knock out approaching enemy fire from Forward Operating Bases. Counter-Rocket Artillery and Mortar (C-RAM) is deployed at numerous Forward Operating Bases throughout Iraq and Afghanistan. The system has been credited with saving thousands of soldiers’ lives and is now being analyzed for upgrades and improvements. C-RAM uses sensors, radar and fire-control technology alongside a vehicle or ground-mounted 20mm Phalanx Close-in-Weapons-System able to fire 4,500 rounds per minute. (Scout Warrior)
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The submarine is the single most powerful piece of military hardware ever devised. Inside the hull of a single nuclear ballistic missile boat is more firepower than was unleashed by all the armed forces of the world during the Second World War. Submarines played a key role during the Cold War, and in a modern world marked by globalization and emerging regional powers these undersea behemoths are more important than ever. But what role does the submarine play in the 21st century and how will emerging technologies change it? (New Atlas)
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Australia's Boeing E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning & control (AEW&C) fleet is to receive a mission systems upgrade. The upgrade comprises "new and more advanced combat identification sensors, tactical data links, and communication and encryption systems", says Australia's defence ministry in a statement. The value of the contract is A$583 million, with the work to be completed by mid-2022. The work will mainly be conducted at two Australian air bases: RAAF Amberley and RAAF Williamtown. (Flightglobal)
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American troops are currently serving in 177 countries around the world. But if some members of Congress get their way, US forces may soon be fighting in a brave new frontier: space. Yes, seriously. A House Armed Services Committee proposal that’s making its way to the Senate calls for taking the Air Force’s current space missions and giving them to a brand-new branch of the US armed forces whose sole mission would be to focus on space. Welcome to the Space Corps. (Vox)
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