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Full-Year CR Would Hinder Ability to Counter Enemies’ Tech Advances Industry News AOC News & Events AOC Chapter News and Events Spectrum Visualization Challenge

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AOC VIRTUAL SERIES TODAY: Cognitive EW - Latest Buzzword or Way of the Future?
Thursday, April 6, 2017 |14:00-15:00 EST

The concept of cognitive EW has recently emerged as a possible means to ensure the future success of EW systems in increasingly complex and dynamic environments. But as with any new concept - especially in the military domain where secrecy is paramount - details about what cognitive EW really is and what it actually does are extremely limited. Under the circumstances, the appropriate response seems to be: Is cognitive EW really something useful or is it just the latest buzzword?

This webinar will attempt to provide a clearer overview of what cognitive EW is and is not. Possible goals for cognitive EW will be highlighted along with the potential benefits which may be accrued. Perhaps more importantly, some of the challenges to and potential limitations of cognitive EW will also be covered in an attempt to provide a balanced view of the concept. The relevant issues will be illustrated using an EW mission-planning tool currently under development as an example.

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Bronze Sponsor

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REGISTER NOW: 46th Annual Collaborative EW Symposium, April 25-27, Pt. Mugu, CA
"Collaborative Electronic Warfare: Enabling Collaborative EW Through Innovation and Invention"

As EW warfighting requirements continue to evolve in their complexity and interdependency, it is clear that future EW systems must work collaboratively with other Air, Ground, Surface Space and Cyberspace systems. The 46th Annual Point Mugu Electronic Warfare Symposium will facilitate the exchange of enabling concepts and provide a venue to disseminate current research in the fields of Collaborative Electronic Warfare. Prominent leaders, contributors and representatives from the United States and Australian military, government, academia and industry will come together to address current Electronic Warfare gaps and emerging technologies in Collaborative Electronic Warfare required to address these gaps.

View the Conference Page for the Draft Agenda

FREE COURSE

New Threats Require New EW Approaches - No cost 4-hour course
Instructor: Mr. Dave Adamy
Monday, April 24 | 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Embassy Suites Mandalay Bay
Sponsored by Rohde & Schwarz

We are facing an array of new threats that have been developed specifically to overcome the EW approaches we have been using with great success since Viet  Nam. This short-course deals with the features of these new threats and the way they impact EW operations. The new threats have significantly more lethal range, increasing levels of Electronic Protection, and increasingly sophisticated RADAR processing power.  Click here to download the flyer about course and instructor.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS



LtGen Jon M. Davis
Deputy Commandant for Aviation,
Headquarters Marine Corps

Rear Admiral Christian "Boris" Becker
Program Executive Officer for Command, Control, Computers, Communications and Intelligence and Program Executive Officer for Space Systems

RDML Bret C. Batchelder
Commander, Navy Warfare Development Command

RDML Brian K. Corey
Commander, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division
Assistant Commander for Test and Evaluation,
Naval Air Systems Command

Mr. William Flynn, SES
Director for Innovation and Integration and Senior Advisor for Space for the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare (OPNAV N2N6)

Register Now!

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REGISTER NOW: 9th Annual EW Capability Gaps and Enabling Technologies Operational & Technical Information Exchange, May 9-11, Crane, IN
EW warfighting requirements continue to evolve in their complexity and capability to meet Air, Ground, Surface, Space, and Cyberspace requirements. The 9th 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.

Register Now

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KEY SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED: International & Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Electronic Warfare Symposium and Workshop, May 15-19 in Atlanta
U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) of sensitive military technologies, like Electronic Warfare, can be difficult to understand and navigate for International Partners and U.S. Defense Industry. U.S. Export laws, such as the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), requirements for Export Licenses, and in some cases Congressional approval, can be confusing and complicate the sale of EW systems and associated technical support. This conference provides an educational opportunity and forum for U.S. Government, U.S. Defense Industry, Academia and International partners to share information and provide updates on FMS and DCS program policy, processes and improvements.

HIGH RANKING SPEAKERS



Lt Gen Bob Elder (Ret.)
Symposium Chair

Mr. John A. Weida, SES
Director Policy, Programs & Strategy, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs (SAF/IA)

Ms. Lisa Fruge-Cirilli
AOC President



Air Brigade General Leopoldo Porras
Chilean AF
Head of the Division of Engineering and
Support Systems of Weapons    

Brig Gen Gregory J. Touhill, USAF (Ret.)
Former Chief, Office of Military
Cooperation-Kuwait, U.S. Embassy
Kuwait 2009-2011



Col Michael (Torch) Schnabel
Chief, Disclosure, Weapons, and Tech Transfer Division
(SAF/IAPT)

CAPT Laura Schuessler
PMA-272, NAS Patuxent River, MD

Colonel Jong Lee, USA
PMO-ASE, Redstone Arsenal, AL



Mr. Scott Boyd
Chief of the EW & Avionics Div, Agile Combat Support Directorate,
Air Force Life Cycle Management, Robins AFB

Register Now

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2017 AWARD NOMINATIONS: Recognize Colleagues and Units by May 1
Honor those who have furthered the discipline of Electronic Warfare (EW), Information Operations (IO), Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations (EMSO) and the AOC! Both individually and collectively, you have the knowledge and experience in the Electromagnetic Spectrum community, so you are among the best qualified judges of those accomplishments that deserve international recognition. Whether it be for a single outstanding contribution or unit achievement, an act of courage or heroism or long and valued service that has pushed the frontiers of EMS technology and its applications, we want to receive your nomination!

Recognize your colleagues by nominating someone for one or more of the AOC’s 2017 individual or unit awards.
Head to crows.org to view all the awards and full descriptions. You can nominate a person/unit for more than one award, if you so choose. Download the nomination form from crows.org and fill one out for each recipient you would like to nominate.

Nomination forms are due by May 1st, 2017. Don’t wait, nominate someone today.

Nomination Form

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SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY: AOC Spectrum Visualization Challenge
The AOC and Raytheon are partnering to sponsor a Spectrum Visualization Challenge (SVC) -- a pilot scholarship opportunity for undergraduate students pursuing STEM-related fields of study. The SVC challenge is to visually represent and explain electronic warfare (EW), which takes place within the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS). If you are interested in entering or would like to learn more about the competition, please click here.

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AOC VIRTUAL SERIES: Smart Antennas, April 20
Thursday, April 20, 2017 | 18:00-19:00 UTC / 14:00-15:00 EST

Smart Antennas are the new generation of antennas that can adapt to a wide range of conditions, environments, and threats.  These antennas are called smart because of their capacity for self-healing when damaged, nulling jamming signals when threatened, beamsteering towards signals of interest, adaptively tracking, and a variety of other "adaptive" capabilities.  Smart Antennas have application in all frequency ranges and can range in complexity from very simple to very complex.

Register Now


Gold Sponsor

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SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED: AOC EW Europe - Advancing EW and Electromagnetic Operations Together, June 6-8

Exhibition Space Sold Out!
The Call for Papers has ended and resulted in a great program covering the entire AOC Mission Area – see some of our speakers below.

View the Current Conference Programme

AOC EW Europe will be held in perhaps the world’s most iconic city – London. It will consider the future of EW and EM Operations in the changing light of current and emerging threats, including Hybrid Warfare and Anti Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) where potential opponents are out-performing the West. It will consider the possible responses and how thinking and attitudes must change and examine the new capabilities that will be required across all lines of development, by all services, in all countries in the free world.

The conference will include plenary sessions and twin-tracks focusing respectively on operations, capability and defense lines of development, and industry developments and inventiveness. AOC EW Europe 2017 will bring together the communities involved in EW, SIGINT, C4ISR, Cyber EM Activities (CEMA) and more. Speakers will include leaders and operators from the military, government, academia, S&T and R&D communities and crucially, industry. This is an unclassified truly-global EW networking, exhibition, workshop and conference and not to be missed.

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

Air Marshal Philip Sturley CB MBE BSc FRAeS CCMI, Conference Chairman, RAF (Retd), UK
Lisa Frugé-Cirilli, AOC President, US
Air Commodore John Philliban RAF, Head Joint User C4ISR & Cyber, Joint Forces Command, UK
Professor David Stupples, Professor of Electronic & Radio Systems, Director of EW Research, City, University of London, UK
Professor Amit Mehta, College of Engineering, Swansea University, UK
Lt Col Mark Stoter, Commanding Officer 14 Signal Regiment (EW), UK
Dr David Stoudt, Engineering Fellow for Directed Energy, Booz Allen Hamilton, US
Dr Robert Pearson, Director Land Systems, Technical Director, Chemring, UK
Wg Cdr Garry Crosby RAF (Retd), Head of Studies & Research, Airborne & Space Systems, Leonardo, UK

Register Now

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AOC VIRTUAL SERIES: EW vs Cyber, May 4
Thursday, May 04, 2017 | 14:00-15:00 EST

Throughout its history, EW has repeatedly been "superseded" by newer concepts and all but forgotten - at least until the shooting starts, at which point the cost of catching up is always high. As the new concept on the block, cyber is currently attracting significant attention and funding, potentially to the detriment of EW. More worryingly, cyber practitioners sometimes argue that the EMS is part of the newly-defined cyber domain, thereby effectively claiming that EW is subordinate to cyber. Is this the end of the EW world as we know it?

This webinar will investigate the relationship between EW and cyber from a technical perspective rather than from a policy perspective. The notion that EW is subordinate to cyber or vice versa will be considered and possible answers provided. Some differences between the two domains will be highlighted, and the suggestion that these domains are equivalent will be explored. Finally, a possible mechanism to facilitate understanding the relationship between EW and cyber will be developed.

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Gold Sponsor

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KEYNOTE SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED: 8th Annual Cyber/Electronic Warfare Convergence Conference, June 6-8
June 6-8, 2017 | SPAWAR, Charleston, SC

Electronic Warfare and Cyberspace technical capabilities are becoming more technically similar. However, the communities which 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 SPEAKERS



Lieutenant General Jon M. Davis
Deputy Commandant for Aviation, Headquarters Marine Corps    

Major General Burke "Ed" Wilson
Deputy Principal Cyber Advisor to the Secretary of Defense and Senior Military Advisor for Cyber and Office of the the Under  Secretary of Defense for Policy, Office of the Secretary of Defense

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This two day workshop will cover the basics of emitter geolocation plus recent advances in the field. Emitter geolocation is the identification or estimation of the real-world geographic location of an object that emits some type of signal, such as a radar, mobile radio, RFID or even an acoustic source. In its simplest form geolocation involves the generation of a set of geographic coordinates and is closely related to the use of positioning systems.The techniques of emitter geolocation apply regardless of the spectral range of the emissions and typically involve estimation of the Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) and/or Frequency Difference of Arrival (FDOA) among multiple spatially diverse detectors. Applications of emitter geolocation are also numerous ranging from asset tracking to traffic monitoring to defense uses such as battlespace management.

Presenter: Professor Mark Fowler from SUNY Binghamton
Learn More...

 

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CALL FOR PAPERS: Pikes Peak Roost EW Olympics and Symposium, July 13-14
The Association of Old Crows (AOC) - Pikes Peak Roost Chapter will host the 2017 Electronic Warfare Olympics & Symposium on July 13th & 14th, 2017 in Colorado Springs, CO.

The 2017 Electronic Warfare Olympics & Symposium will improve the capability, and marketability, of spectrum warriors by building the local EW/IO community. and bringing awareness to the capabilities in the region. The event will consist of speakers, government and industry exhibits, and Electronic Warfare Olympics. The Olympics will be a series of team-based technical challenges of varying distance and difficulty with respect to modern digital warfare. Topics will be focused on Electronic Warfare, but will also involve Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Space.

CALL FOR PAPERS
We are now accepting speaking proposals for this event. Abstracts will be evaluated by The Association of Old Crows Pikes Peak Roost Chapter. Proposals should be relevant to the requested topic. You may submit more than one abstract. Papers are due May 26.

Call for Papers Details
Register Now

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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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Budget uncertainty is challenging the services as they try to modernize, both to keep up with enemy threats that are advancing around the globe and to replacing aging equipment near the end of its service life, the services’ second-in-commands said today. Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Glenn Walters said today at the Navy League’s annual Sea-Air-Space exposition that a full-year continuing resolution – which is looming, if lawmakers can’t pass a defense spending bill before the current CR expires April 28 – would stop the Marines from countering the technological advances they are seeing from adversaries around the globe. (USNI News)
Learn More...

 

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Army officials are warning Congress that 47 programs would be put on hold if lawmakers approve a continuing resolution that keeps current funding levels in place for the rest of the year. Those programs include a new mounted gun for Stryker combat vehicles as well as cyber and electronic warfare efforts, the officials said in a document submitted to Congress. Payments to military academy cadets would be halted, and there would be a hold on starting new weapon programs or modernizing existing equipment. (The Hill)
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The Navy is implementing enhanced interferometer-based technology that can covertly assess threats and jam enemy electronic systems as part of full production of Block 2 of the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) for the AN/SLQ-32 electronic warfare (EW) system. Lockheed Martin Corp., Rotary and Mission Systems is conducting the final examination of options regarding the full-rate production of SEWIP Block 2 through a $98.484 million contract modification to the full-rate production procurement contract awarded last year. (Defense Systems)
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One of the keys behind major pushes within the Pentagon to develop new technologies are advancements by so-called near-peer competitors. Chief among them: Russia. In the assessments by several top military leaders, Russia poses the greatest strategic threat to the U.S. and its allies. Russia’s capabilities in cyber, unmanned systems, special forces (sometimes referred to as "little green men"), proxies – all taken together as so-called hybrid warfare – have forced the U.S. to reassess how it fights and organizes. (C4ISRNet)
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A half-decade ago, U.S. Navy communicators were using defense journalists to send a clear message to Boeing: We love our F/A-18 E/Fs, but we’re done buying any more Super Hornets. Now, that plan has been turned on its head. Not only is the Navy planning to buy more of its mainstay aircraft, but Boeing is working on upgrades and technology that will not only keep the jets flying into the coming decades, but make them very much a major component of the service’s aerial strategy. And there’s every indication the Navy is on board with such plans for its favorite aviation weapon. (The National Interest)
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Denying the enemy the ability to communicate is often equated with denying them the opportunity for victory. As the battle for Mosul continues in the drive to push the Islamic State from Iraq, the U.S Air Force is flying one of its most effective yet least known aircraft, the EC-130H Compass Call, on daily missions to deny ISIS military leaders and fighters the ability to communicate and coordinate defensive actions by shutting down their cell phones, radios, IEDs and very likely their new weapon of choice, drones. (Foxtrot Alpha)
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History never repeats, but it often rhymes, and a wise man listens to the echoes. Today, the Army is exploring a new concept of future combat called Multi Domain Battle, which calls for small, agile units designed to overwhelm the enemy with coordinated actions not only on the land, but in the air, on the sea, and in space, cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum. For old defense hands (that’s us), many of these new ideas echo those explored two decades ago, during an innovative effort known as Army After Next (AAN). So we reached out to Bob Scales, the former head of AAN, retired two-star general, commandant of the Army War College, and recipient of the Silver Star for valor in Vietnam. In this essay, Scales lays out what the Army needs to learn from history, and what it should beware. (Breaking Defense)
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Mixed reality is making headlines all over the world, mostly in the media and entertainment space. After a recent conversation with an inside source at Microsoft Hololens division, I wanted to check in and see how the military uses augmented reality for training or even possibly on the battlefield. In this post, mixed reality for militaries and law enforcement will be explored to try and find connections between commercial entities with military contracts and the current commercial, industrial sectors where mixed reality and augmented reality are being promoted as productivity enhancers and new mediums for media and entertainment. There are many industries where great engineering helps keep people safe. (Engineering.com)
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The fact that only one-third of his command deployed at sea and in uniform illustrates how important his shore-based component is, Rear Adm. Matt Kohler, commander, Naval Information Forces, said. "There are 54,000 of us — on active duty, in the Reserves and in our civilian component," Kohler said, during an April 3 presentation at the Sea-Air-Space Exposition. "All three are critical, in order to deliver information," he said. Formed in accord with the Pentagon’s overall new emphasis on cyber security, Naval Information Forces unites the service’s cyber, electronic warfare, information operations, intelligence, networks, and space disciplines under one umbrella. (SEAPOWER Magazine)
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