March 2, 2011
ARCHIVE/SUBSCRIBEEW/SIGINT RESOURCE GUIDE  |
STORY OF THE WEEK: EW Gatekeepers Brief Highlight of Successful Pt Mugu Conference
More than 330 participants tackled the tough topics associated with Collaborative Electronic Warfare, January 25-27 at Pt Mugu, CA. Rear Admirals Mat Winter and Randy Mahr personally welcomed the enthusiastic crowd. They thanked the audience for the personal support and safety they had realized from EW as they faced enemy systems across several decades, and challenged the crowd to envision what EW will be forced to address on the 50th and 75th anniversaries of such a symposium. A highlight of the conference was an out-brief from the AOC EW Military Gatekeepers. The Gatekeepers are an advisory council of service EW leaders who passionately work to ensure that the community works together to provide present and future electronic warfare capabilities and advises the AOC on how to best serve the community. The Gatekeepers were presented with multiple questions to open a debate on their perspectives of future threats and the community’s ability to respond. Significant questions were recapped for the larger symposium and included the following: 1. What do you perceive as the biggest threat to future EW and EMS capabilities? The overwhelming response was the requirement for ongoing education on the need for EW and the advancement of education in both the science and the art of EW. Respondents also highlighted that the community and leaders must avoid inertia, which has been encountered by the EW community after most major conflicts as forces were withdrawn causing a significant gap in capabilities as enemy systems evolved. 2. What future technology is a potential game changer and are we prepared to handle this technology? Dynamic Spectrum Allocation was clearly identified as internally users compete for highly congested areas of the spectrum and non-defense industries and our enemies are learning how to operate effectively in the contested environment. 3. Given impending budget constraints within DOD, what is the most important capability to invest in for future EW/EMS operations? Each of the services echoed the response that EW Battle Management must remain a top priority to improve future interoperability for essential information sharing. 4. How can the AOC optimally facilitate your concerns to the larger community? The AOC was asked to continue its role as the neutral unbiased avenue between users, industry and academia, as well as to continue in our legacy of promoting education and true open thought and to continue fostering mentorship to grow the community with increasing professional depth and presence. The counterpart of the Military Gatekeepers is the standup of Industry Gatekeepers. Key industry investors in AOC operational venues are being invited to answer questions from the military and provide feedback to the community and the AOC during the AOC EW week at Nellis AFB, Las Vegas, NV, March 14-18. This EW week brings together two key conferences on Advanced Electronic Attack and Training in the Contested EMS Battlespace (Modeling and Simulation). Both these Gatekeepers groups are essential to the development of partnerships for a strong EW enterprise. |
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