NOMINATIONS DUE MAY 1: 2016 AOC Awards
Honor those who have furthered the discipline of Electronic Warfare (EW), Information Operations (IO), Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations (EMSO) and the AOC! Recognize their dedication by nominating them or the unit for an AOC 2016 Individual or Unit Award!

To view the list of awards and download the application, go to http://www.crows.org/community/awards.html. Nomination Forms are due by May 1! If you have any questions concerning the awards, please contact Glorianne O’Neilin (oneilin@crows.org)
 

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DON'T MISS NEXT WEEK'S WEBINAR: Our Brave New Digital World - Where Analog Rules, May 5
1400-1500 EDT (1800-1900 GMT)

It is widely believed that the move towards digital systems has rendered analogue technologies obsolete, and that understanding the digital domain is more important than understanding physics. But as usual, the truth is far more complex! Even though we increasingly view the world through digitised eyes and use digital tools, the world remains analogue and is still governed by physical laws. Far from becoming obsolete and irrelevant, analogue technologies and physics are even more important today than ever before.

The motivation for the ever-expanding use of digital technologies will be summarised by briefly considering some aspects of the theoretical performance achievable by digital systems. Some examples of how RF and microwave front-ends and basic physical laws affect the performance of systems will then be described. In this way, the crucial importance of analogue subsystems and physical laws on the performance of any system – analogue or digital – will be demonstrated.

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JUST TWO WEEKS AWAY: Time is Running Out! Register Now for the 16th Annual AOC Electronic Warfare Europe, May 10-12 in Rotterdam
"Transforming EW – Evolving Threats, Concepts and Capabilities"

Don't miss this critical event in Rottderam, named one of the top 10 cities to visit in 2016 by Lonely Planet!

As nations re-focus on contingency operations after over a decade of counter-insurgency, there are many challenges and opportunities for governments, the military, academia, science and technology and industry. Recent events have reminded everyone of the deadly nature of RF guided weaponry and that the threat from insurgents has not ended, but intensified. The widely reported use of wholesale, sophisticated Russian counter-C3 systems in and around Ukraine in parallel to cyber operations and widespread dis-information/psychological operations has given rise to what leading military and political thinkers refer to as Hybrid Warfare. The question is what does this mean for the future of EW in the free world? Almost all military operations are enabled by wide-ranging electromagnetic (EM) operations, a concept that NATO and others have fully embraced. These include SIGINT; C4ISR; precise navigation and timing; targeting; communications, spectrum management and the whole gamut of EW. But, are there new requirements for EW arising from hybrid warfare? The answer to the question then, is yes, a great deal, with an obvious example being EM-enabled cyber operations.

CONFERENCE AGENDA. Click HERE to View

FEATURED SPEAKERS


Colonel Jeffery Church
Chief of the Electronic Warfare Division, Army G-3/5/7 Operations Directorate, US

Lt Gen Bob Elder
Past AOC President, Former Commander 8th Air Force, USAF

Air Cdre Madelein Spit
Assistant Director, Joint Air Power Competence Centre & Air Force Armaments Group Chair, NATO

Dave Hime
President, AOC

Conference Details
Register Now

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IN TWO WEEKS: 8th Annual EW Capability Gaps and Enabling Technologies Operational & Technical Information Exchange, May 10-12 at Crane, IN
EW warfighting requirements continue to evolve in their complexity and capability to meet air, ground, surface, space and cyberspace requirements. The 8th Annual Electronic Warfare Capability Gaps and Enabling Technologies Operational & Technical Information Exchange will provide a forum for EW professionals from the military, government, industry and academic fields to discuss issues related to the requirements of EW programs, platforms and operations. This capstone event will focus on the identified gaps and technologies the services require to ensure EW maintains freedom of maneuver through the Electromagnetic Spectrum (EMS) in support of achieving commanders’ objectives. Speakers and presenters will look back at the previous few years and identify progress made to ensure the success of the warfighter in tomorrow’s battlespace.

DOWNLOAD AGENDA HERE

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS



Rear Admiral Randolf L. Mahr, USN
DPEO, DPD, F-35 Lightening II

Maj. Gen. Burke E. "Ed" Wilson (invited)
24th Air Force and Commander, Air Forces
Cyber, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas

Mr. William P. Bray, SES
Executive Director, Program Executive Office
Integrated Warfare Systems Office of the
Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research,
Development and Acquisition)

Margaret G. Palmieri
Director, Integrated Fires (OPNAV N2N6F3)

Register Now

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REGISTER FOR THE MAY 19 AOC VIRTUAL SERIES WEBINAR: Protecting the Sky: Detection, Direction Finding and Countermeasure for Threats Imposed by Radio-Controlled Micro-UAVs
1400-1500 EDT (1800-1900 GMT)

Today, more than 300.000 Radio-Controlled Micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (commonly referred to as "drones") are sold worldwide every month. It was expected that around 0.5 to 1 million micro-drones were to be sold for Christmas last year in the U.S. alone. The increasing amount of affordable civilian drones capable of carrying payloads of some 100g up to a few kg leads to an emerging threat ranging from simple disturbances (privacies), spying or even incur severe destruction (terror attacks). These might include disturbing public events, important summits, endangering air traffic (drone sighting near airport), threatening governmental facilities, sensitive sites and industrial facilities (i.e. high-tech industries) as well as illegal smuggling contraband into correctional facilities and cross border.

The day has come where drones are "hovering over the sky." Facing with the challenges and difficulties of intercepting radio controlled drones especially to capture their operators, many authorities have been striving to achieve a solution in drone monitoring and countermeasures. A technical approach for countering the threats posed by such micro-drones is in tremendous demand, in order to achieve an idealized solution in "protecting the sky" against the drones.

In this webinar: "Protecting the Sky", we will provide insight into the application, specifications and impact of civilian recreational drones that are increasingly being used for other (sometimes hostile) purposes. The technical approach for countering the threats posed by drones to protected environments have been revealed, which includes:

•     monitoring the spectrum for relevant signals
•     identification and classification of frequency-agile RC signals
•     direction finding
•     possible defensive countermeasures

This webinar will review a strategic approach for the development of a solution for signal monitoring of radio-controlled microdrones and the possible countermeasures.

Register Now


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SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED: Register Now for the 7th Annual Cyber/Electronic Warfare Convergence Conference, June 7-9, Charleston, SC
Electronic warfare and cyberspace technical capabilities are becoming more technically similar. However, the communities that practice these disciplines remain largely separated and vary widely across the Military Services in terms of their equipment, unit organization and operating methodologies. This conference provides the EW and cyberspace communities an opportunity to collaborate and discuss capabilities, TTPs and research in EW and cyberspace operations to enable more rapid deployment of new and improved capabilities. The EW/Cyberspace Convergence Conference identifies ways to develop advanced technologies and systems to address the changing battlefield dynamics of the digital age and bring EW and cyberspace together for the Warfighter!

KEYNOTE AND DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS


MajGen James Livingston, USMC (Ret.)
Congreessional Medal of Honor Recipient     

COL Bryant Glando, USA
Chief, Regional Inter Agency Division,
USCYBERCOM

Captain Scott Heller
Commanding Officer,
SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic
   
Col Brandan Harris, USAF
Deputy Director, Mission Integration Directrorate,
National Reconnaissance Office

Conference Details

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CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS: Electromagnetic Maneuver Warfare (EMW) Systems Engineering and Acquisition Conference, September 20-22

Our adversaries are using ubiquitous and cheap technology to further develop cyber warfare as well as advance and proliferate electromagnetic spectrum capabilities. EMW is an operational approach to seizing the initiative across the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS). The goal is to combine EMW capabilities in the sea, air and land domains to generate enhanced combat effects. 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 art, 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.

Well-developed program strategies optimize the time and cost required to satisfy approved capability needs. The Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution (PPBE) Process allocates resources within the DoD to perform this optimization. It is important for program managers, engineers and business planners to be aware of the 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.

We encourage you to participate in this conference and receive several perspectives on EMW, it’s convergence with Cyber Warfare, as well as obtaining insight into defense acquisition and DoD systems engineering. We need these perspectives to not only survive in a challenging fiscal environment, but also to help EW missions contribute more to our critical overall national defense mission.

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS: DUE JUNE 17
The conference committee is soliciting original unclassified papers from US and international leaders, operators, subject matter experts and thinkers from the military, academia and industry. You are invited to submit an 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 is Cyber warfare converging on EW and EMW? What are emerging tools, processes and systems that reflect this convergence?
Focus Question 3: How does model-based engineering provide value in the systems engineering environment and what are innovative modeling solutions which should be considered for application?

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 June 17, 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 and short title. For example: "Smith_EW is the Future.doc." Conference presentations may be classified Secret US Only or unclassified (please indicate which classification you are submitting for since we’ll have unclassified and one classified session); however, abstracts must be unclassified. Notification of acceptance and presentation submission instructions will be by July 8, 2016

Conference Details

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SAVE THE DATE: Cyber Electromagnetic Activity 2016, October 17-20

Just announced – the second annual CEMA Conference, October 17-20 at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. Save the date and stay tuned for more information.

Conference Page

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EWCI 2016, the fourth benchmark international event in the field of EW in India held during 22 to 25 February 2016 at the venue of Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, has concluded very successfully. The event was organised by the India Chapter of AOC with a strong support from Defence PSU (Public Sector Unit) Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Government of India.
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NEW VIDEO: Don't Miss the AOC on Vimeo
See EW in action! Click the image or HERE to play on Vimeo.

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CHECK OUT THE AOC JOB VACANCIES PAGE: Positions Posted Now, Employers Can Post Positions for Free
The AOC has launched a new webpage where members and sponsors can post job vacancies. 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 that 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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The Vice-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is taking a "very serious" look at to making the electromagnetic spectrum a formal "domain" of military operations, a top aide to the Pentagon’s chief information officer told a Breaking Defense reporter on April 22. The move would elevate the ethereal realm of radio waves and radar to the same level of importance as land, sea, air, space and cyberspace, with ramifications rippling across the military’s budget, training and organization. (Breaking Defense)
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One billion dollars of electronic warfare tech will be amping up the Growler fighter jet. This week, the U.S. Navy awarded a $1 billion contract to Raytheon to build the Next Generation Jammer (NGJ). Chosen to replace the legacy ALQ-99 systems used on the EA-18G Growler, the NGJ is a cutting-edge electronic attack smart pod that will take the already-impressive Growler capabilities to an unprecedented level. (Fox News)
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The United States is losing its long-held advantage in advanced sensors, computer-based battle management and precision weapons. These are the key technologies underpinning the so-called Second Offset Strategy that allowed the U.S. military to deter erstwhile adversaries such as the Soviet Union, which had by the late 1970s achieved parity with the United States in nuclear weapons and maintained a clear numerical superiority in traditional conventional forces. Now Russia, China and their surrogates are deploying advanced precision weapons systems, both offensive and defensive, integrated with sophisticated sensors and automated battle management systems. (The National Interest)
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When Defense Secretary Ashton Carter landed in Iraq for a surprise visit this week, he came armed with this news: More than 200 additional U.S. troops are headed to that country. They'll join the fight to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State. As that battle unfolds on the ground, a parallel war against ISIS is unfolding in cyberspace. (NPR)
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The Baltic Sea region has emerged as one of the friction zones between an aggressive Russia and the United States and its NATO allies in northeastern Europe. Recently the USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) was twice buzzed by Russian Sukhoi Su-24 Fencers during an exercise in the Baltic Sea. The Cook incident is just the most recent of a string of close encounters between Russia and the West at sea and in the air over the Baltic Sea over the last two years. (USNI News)
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When President Obama meets with a number of America’s Persian Gulf allies this week in Saudi Arabia, he won’t show up empty-handed. Reuters reports that the Obama administration is poised to finally approve two long-delayed multibillion sales of Boeing fighter jets to Qatar and Kuwait, and that the announcement could come this week during the President’s visit to the region. (Fortune)
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Still cold. It has been two years since NATO and Russia sat at the same table to talk security issues, and the time off hasn’t done much for the relationship. A meeting in Brussels Wednesday designed to break the ice on issues like Ukraine, Syria and tensions in the Baltics didn’t get very far before all sides agreed they don’t see eye-to-eye on much. (Foreign Policy)
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Air Force Global Strike Command participated April 8-17 in Constant Vigilance, an annual exercise that tests its ability to conduct both conventional and nuclear operations. "The primary focus of the exercise is the generation of our bomber and (intercontinental ballistic missile) forces, but it has evolved to increase the participation of the entire AFGSC team," said Maj. Ryan Graves, the chief of AFGSC exercises. "As the AFGSC mission continues to expand, our exercise team will continue developing challenging scenarios to ensure our forces our ready and able to meet the growing threat environment." (AF Link)
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Since 2011, when the Budget Control Act put a cap on defense spending and spawned the threat of sequestration, the United States Navy has been under tremendous fiscal pressure. While global instability and the need for a strong U.S. military have grown, funding for our Navy has been reduced significantly by an administration whose appreciation for the importance and value of our Navy is clearly insufficient. This is a dangerous trend that must be reversed. (The National Interest)
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