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THANK YOU for a Great Annual Symposium and Convention
AOC would like to thank all of our attendees, sponsors, speakers, exhibitors and volunteers for making the 52nd Annual International Symposium and Convention such a great success. Record-breaking attendance of more than 2,000, plus 100 exhibitors and cutting-edge sessions made this year's event one of our best ever. The launch of our inaugural STEM program also drew 500 local students to a unique space of static displays and other exhibits. Attendees can view photos by visiting http://www.crows.org/conventions/2015.html.

Did you miss an edition of the Show Daily? Use the links below to access them all:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5

Thank You to Our Convention Host

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2016 CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: AOC International Office, 2016 AOC International Elections
Each year the AOC's membership determines the future of the Association by electing representatives to its Board of Directors. Nominations for the 2016 election will be accepted effective today, December 10, 2015.

The election will begin on July 1, 2016 and will end on July 31, 2016.

The 2016 election slate will include two (2) At Large Director positions, who will serve a three (3)-year term. In addition, the two International Regional Directors will be elected for three (3)-year terms from International 1 and International 2 regions. These new Directors will be installed at the Annual 2016 Convention/Symposium and the Board meeting venues scheduled for that first week of December 2016.

The 2016 AOC Nomination Form is available. Nomination packets must be received at AOC headquarters by close-of-business on Monday, March 1, 2016. If you wish to nominate more than one person, please duplicate the form. Nomination forms are also available on the AOC website at www.crows.org or by contacting the AOC’s Director of Membership, Ms. Glorianne O’Neilin, at oneilin@crows.org.

When completed, the forms should be returned to the N&E Committee at: Association of Old Crows, 1000 North Payne St., Suite 200, Alexandria, VA 22314 or by fax to (703) 549-2589. Completed forms may also be returned by email to oneilin@crows.org.

The N&E Committee will be happy to answer any questions you may have. You may contact me at amorosonino@aol.com or you may contact Glorianne at AOC Headquarters, as above or at (703) 549-1600, and she will insure your inquiry gets to the Committee.

Nino Amorso
Chair, Nominations & Election Committee

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CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS: 45th Annual Collaborative Electronic Warfare Symposium, April 6-7 at Pt. Mugu
We challenge presenters to explore the way forward in enabling collaborative EW through innovation and invention. Requested are presentations or demonstrations from all United States and Australian services, DoD, industry, and academia that identify technical paths, options, and potential opportunities for EW collaboration. Submitted abstracts should address one or more of the symposium sessions: threat trends, collaborative EW science and technology perspectives, cognitive and adaptive EW technologies, coordinated/distributed networked-enabled systems, and warfighter perspectives.

Abstracts for presentations must be at the unclassified level and in text format. Please forward abstracts to Ms. Shelley Frost at frost@crows.org by February 5, 2016. Abstracts are limited to one page of text or 400 words. To facilitate the selection processes please ensure your submitted abstract file is labeled with your last name, session number and short title. For example: "Smith_session1_Welcome_and_Intro.doc." Symposium presentations may be classified or unclassified; however, abstracts must be unclassified. Notification of acceptance and presentation submission instructions will be by February 12, 2016. Presentations will be required in Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 or earlier format.

In order to meet required foreign disclosure procedures, final presentations must be submitted with appropriate foreign disclosure paperwork by February 19, 2016. Foreign disclosure processes will be available at www.crows.org when finalized.

IMPORTANT DATES 2016:
(note: dates are proposed for planning purposes only and subject to change. Actual dates are expected to fall within 7-10 days of listed dates)
Abstracts Due: February 5
Notification of Acceptance: February 12
Final Presentations with Foreign Disclosure paperwork: February 19
Security Clearance: March 8

Conference Details

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CALL FOR PAPERS: Dixie Crow Symposium 41 – EW/ISR: Today’s Innovations Countering Tomorrow’s Threats, March 22-26
The EW/Avionics Division, AFLCMC/WNY, and the Dixie Crow Chapter of the Association of Old Crows (AOC) will co-sponsor the AF Technical Program, 2016 Dixie Crow Symposium 41, on 22-24 March 2016.  The program will be at the Scott Theater (Building 1500), Museum of Aviation, Robins AFB, GA.  An AF conference approval request has been submitted by the EW/Avionics Division.

This year’s theme, shown above, illustrates collaboration within the Information Operations (IO) environment and integration within the operations environment for both new and legacy systems.   

Papers to support this theme should include issues relating to Electronic Warfare (EW), Intelligence Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR) and collaboration within the existing and future IO environment. Efficient utilization, understanding and control of the Electromagnetic Spectrum are necessary for defense of our forces and our homeland. Collaborative improvement is necessary to assure our tactics and products are affordable and successfully protect the warfighters.  Maximization of modern and legacy systems demands "Unique" approaches.

Papers may be unclassified or classified. Briefing sessions will be separated as follows: 1) Unclassified with no restrictions; 2) Unclassified US ONLY, EXPORT CONTROLLED; 3) Classified Confidential or Secret, US ONLY.

A Releasibility Certification (form included with full Call for Papers) is required before presentation can take place.

Please be aware the Dixie Crow Technical Committee does not release any bio, abstract or briefing information.  Any attendee wishing a copy of the briefing must contact the briefer directly.   

Presentations will be targeted for 20 minutes (Including Questions and Answers)

Please let us know if you are interested in presenting a paper. Abstracts (less than 200 words) must be UNCLASSIFIED and may be submitted electronically any time before February 15, 2016. 

Full Call for Papers

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PLAN NOW TO ATTEND: Fourth EW International Conference India (EWCI 2016), February 22-25

The Fourth EW International Conference India (EWCI 2016) is the latest event in the benchmark of EWCI Conference Series in the advanced field of EW. The conference is being organised by the award-winning India Chapter of Association of Old Crows (AOC), Bangalore. The conference is supported by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), India. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bangalore is the patronising sponsor of the event. The conference addresses the technical and commercial needs of operational users, planners, developers, procurers, testers and trainers of the latest EW technologies and systems.

A large scale indoor exhibition will accompany the conference, displaying the latest EW products from international EW organisations. There will be an intense one-day pre-conference tutorials preceding the conference. The conference is envisaged as the important platform for EW professionals who would share the research and development output in the field of EW at the global level. Also keeping in view of the government of India's "Make in India" policy, the participants of the conference will be exposed to the state-of-the-art developments in self reliance in the field of EW in India and, hence, the theme of the conference is chosen as "EW: Partner for Self-Reliance."

Conference Details

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Our regular readers already know the bad news about electronic warfare. Russia and China are rapidly catching up to the U.S. in jamming, spoofing, and electronic eavesdropping. Senior Pentagon officials say the technological gap between them and us is shrinking, especially on those technologies that have made the biggest difference: GPS, drones, smart weapons, satellites, command networks, and more, all of which depend on uninterrupted electronic transmissions. (Breaking Defense)
Learn More...

 

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Across the military, the services are moving electronic warfare and cyberspace operations ever closer together as the two disciplines become increasingly intertwined, dependent on each other and a source of growing pains. And while that integration is happening across the Defense Department, it's the battlefield effects that should be the focus, according to a top Air Force official. (C4ISR & Networks)
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If the Air Force wants to be effective in future conflicts, it must rethink the way it handles electronic warfare, a retired general said Tuesday. "Currently, there’s no data link between the F-22 and F-35 that would allow them to share targeting data," said Lt. Gen. David Deptula (ret.). "Instead, these two fifth-gen aircraft — built by the same company I might add — operate separate networks riding on proprietary links." (Defense News)
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The convergence of electronic warfare and cyberspace often serves as a Rorschach test on which Pentagon officials project their fears of network vulnerabilities. For William Roper, director of the Office of the Secretary of Defense's Strategic Capabilities Office, the blending of the domains takes on added menace if you throw in targeted information warfare. (FCW)
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CSBA REPORT: Analysts, Lawmakers Urge DoD to Rethink Electronic Warfare

In a world where long-range guided missiles and sophisticated radars are the norm, analysts and lawmakers are urging the Pentagon to rethink the way it operates in the electromagnetic spectrum to gain new advantages over near-peer competitors, such as Russia and China. Over the past few decades, competitors’ advancements in sensor and missile technology have forced the US military to operate farther and farther away from its intended targets, according to a report released this week by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment (CSBA). The Pentagon must shift toward using low-power countermeasures to defeat enemy sensors, as well as low-power sensors and communications. (Defense News)
Learn More...

 

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AOC CONVENTION NEWS: Army’s Electronic Warfare Program Has Enough Soldiers, Needs More Experience, Equipment

After five years of a gradual rebuilding process, the Army’s nascent electronic warfare program has plenty of people. Now it needs to equip them to do their jobs, a process that will ramp up significantly beginning next year, officials say.

The Army has been slowly reconstituting electronic warfare as a warfighting discipline after having gotten out of the EW business at the end of the Cold War. But Col. Jeffrey Church, the chief of the Army’s electronic warfare division, said the improvised explosive device threat in Iraq and Afghanistan proved the decision was a mistake and the service is now completely committed to rebuilding its capacity to fight in the electromagnetic spectrum. (Federal News Radio)
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Russia and China are investing heavily in cyber and electronic warfare, but they’re not shutting down US satellite downlinks yet. Instead, we have met the enemy and he is us — we think. "In 2015 thus far, we have had 261 cases where we have been jammed from getting information from our satellites down to the ground segment," said Gen. John Hyten, head of Air Force Space Command, at the Association of Old Crows electronic warfare conference. (Breaking Defense)
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A high-ranking US general confessed that the most dangerous adversary of the United States in the realm of electronic warfare these days just may be... the United States itself. He also indicated he has no clue how many times American satellites were jammed by China or Russia. (Sputnik News)
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Electronic warfare in the Army is undergoing a revolution, not an evolution, according to the Army's senior electronic warfare, or EW, officer Col. Jeffrey Church, the Army's EW chief at the Pentagon. Church was invited to speak to a crowd of analysts, industry leaders, academia, government leaders and fellow Service members from both the United States and abroad at the Association of Old Crows 52nd Annual Symposium in Washington, D.C., Dec. 1. He participated on a panel discussion featuring EW programs and cyber implications. (Army.mil)
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In conflict zones from Europe to the Middle East, the electromagnetic spectrum has assumed a central place on the modern battlefield. In eastern Ukraine, Russian-backed forces have used sophisticated jamming and interception tactics to undermine communications and surveillance drones. And after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet over the Turkish-Syrian border, Russia deployed its S-400 air defense system, whose advanced surveillance and engagement radar can guide missiles to targets nearly 400 kilometers away. (Defense One)
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AOC CONVENTION NEWS: Army's Electronic-Warfare Training Seen as Lagging Behind Russian efforts

The Army's lack of dedicated electronic-warfare units is keeping U.S. soldiers several steps behind their Russian counterparts, according to the service's electronic-warfare chief. (Subscription) (Inside Defense)
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AOC CONVENTION NEWS: Commercial Tech Integration Essential To U.S. Success In Cyber Conflict

Future wars will be fought as much in cyberspace as any other domain and the weapons used to fight digital battles will come from the commercial sector rather than governments, the director of the Defense Department’s Strategic Capabilities Office said Tuesday. (Subscription) (Defense Daily Network)
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The Defense Department will likely set up a so-called CYBER COM in the future, elevating the current unit to a place on par with current unified combatant commands, a top general said, but warned the organization shouldn't be too focused on cyber alone. "Someday that will come. I think that's just a logical progression," said Gen. John Hyten, the leader of Air Force Space Command. (Air Force Times)
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Russia is preparing to begin waging electronic warfare in Syria with the institution of jamming systems that are meant to prevent an incident similar to the attack on Tuesday that brought down a Russian plane in the war-torn region, according to reports by the Russian news media. Moscow also will install in Syria a highly advanced missile system capable of shooting down aircraft from the ground. (Washington Free Beacon)
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The new Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. John Richardson, previewed a Navy "design for maintaining maritime superiority" this morning. The service will roll it out in January, just before the 2017 budget. While Richardson seems a bit more guarded than his predecessor in his public comments — at least, so far — he did tease enough details to build a partial picture of the plan. (Breaking Defense)
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A team of e-warriors from Plymouth have been recognised for their work by NATO. The Royal Marines Unit, Y Squadron, 30 Commando, received the Outstanding NATO Unit providing Electronic Warfare to Operations award at a ceremony in Washington DC. Major J Hayward, officer commanding Y Squadron said: "This is a great honour from the preeminent electronic warfare organisation in the West in recognition for meritorious and distinctive sustained performance by a military unit in advancing or exemplifying the discipline of electronic warfare." (Western Morning News, UK)
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Lt. Gen. Brad Heithold, the head of Air Force Special Operations Command, wants to make the AC-130 a kind of flying aircraft carrier, launching mini-drones mid-flight to scope out threats and targets. Oh, and he wants the AC-130 to have a laser cannon as well. (Breaking Defense)
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The head of Air Force Special Operations Command hopes new technology can help the service defeat one of its oldest foes: weather. "I’m the gunship guy that’s spent a lot of my life looking at the top of clouds," said Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, the leader of Air Force Special Operations Command. "I spend my mornings going through the multitude of reports that I get from the battlefield. And you’ll be amazed at how many times I will see weather has disrupted our ability to strike." (Air Force Times)
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