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How the F-35C Will Change Naval Aviation Industry News AOC News & Events AOC Chapter News and Events

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ADVOCACY UPDATE: House and Senate Move Forward on NDAA
It has been a whirlwind month on Capitol Hill for the defense budget. On July 6 and July 10, the House and Senate, respectively, reported their versions for the FY18 National Defense Authorization Act. The House was first to consider its bill by passing H.R. 2810 on July 14, by a vote of 344-81. Despite delaying August recess to complete work on several legislative fronts, the Senate failed to consider its version, S.1519, before adjourning for recess. Look for the bill to come to the floor in early September.

August Advocacy Newsletter

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AOC ELECTIONS: Voting Begins September 1
The 2017 AOC Elections are fast approaching. Read candidate bios and instructions in the Election Guide. Beginning  September  1,  AOC  Members  can visit the AOC homepage, www.crows.org, where they will see election information and a link to the voting site. Note: Your dues must be current as of August 20 in order to vote.

View the Election Guide

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REGISTER NOW: 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



Dr. William Conley, SES
Deputy Director, Office of the Under Secretary of) Defense for
Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (OUSD AT&L/A/) Tactical Warfare Systems

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

Mr. Bryan Clark
Senior Fellow, Center for  Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA)

Register Now!

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REGISTER NOW: 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.

Register Now
Hotel and Travel
Symposium Details

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REGISTRATION NOW OPEN: 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.

Register Now!

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PLAN NOW TO ATTEND: AOC EW Conference at DSEI, September 12
Tuesday, September 12 | 15:30-17:00 | Future Electronic Warfare and Electromagnetic Operations
We live in a time of increasing uncertainty on many fronts.  Threats, challenges and opportunities are increasing.  Technology is accelerating.  The world is undoubtedly changing and in unforeseen and perhaps unforeseeable ways.  In terms of future warfare, national forces are being re-shaped and re-equipped to face an operational maneuver space that is already more complex and connected, but constrained.  It may well be chaotic unless the right, informed choices are made now.  In terms of EW and electromagnetic operations, and the Electromagnetic Environment/Domain that underpins much of warfare and everyday life, how can we make sense of all of these things?  

The AOC EW conference will consider the future of EW and EM Operations in the changing light of current and emerging threats, including Hybrid Warfare and Cyber Electromagnetic Activities where potential opponents are out-performing the West.  It will consider the possible responses, 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.  This is an unclassified conference.

The AOC Programme is in the West Theatre at 15:30. Click here for programme detail and click AOC EW to learn more.

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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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CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS: 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.

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS: DUE AUGUST 31
AOC and the PACOM J39 is soliciting original unclassified English language presentations and/or papers for the 6th AOC Pacific Conference from subject matter experts in the U.S. and Allied militaries/government, as well as from academia and industry on the conference theme. Presentations for the full symposium must be UNCLASSIFIED, or UNCLASSIFIED releasable to participating Allied militaries of Australia, Canada, France, Great Britain, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan. Presentations for classified sessions at Camp Smith should be at the SECRET REL/FVEY level, or at higher classification for smaller break-out sessions.

Potential Speakers are invited to note the conference sessions topics and specific areas of interest:

• Warfighting perspectives from the Information Related Capability areas with respect to the requirements of MDB.
• Historical and current perspectives of the application of IO to overcome anti-access strategies and to reach target audiences in denied environments
• Analysis of current and potential A2/AD threats to the U.S. and her Pacific Allies.
• Analysis of adversary and potential adversary offensive EW and cyber strategies for peacetime, crisis, and conflict.
• Experimentation, Exercises and Training for the application of IO in support of MDB.
• Current and emerging technology solutions for the effective employment of information-related capabilities in MDB.

Please contact the Symposium Chair, Arthur Tulak, COL USA, Ret, at arthur.n.tulak.ctr@pacom.mil if you are interested in speaking or want more information and provide the title of the proposed paper, a brief synopsis, and information on the speaker. Industry presentations that support the conference theme may be submitted for either the UNCLASSIFIED or SECRET REL FVEY days. Company or product-focused briefs will not be accepted. The deadline for submitting is close of business Wednesday, 31 August 2017, but earlier is better.

Learn More...

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The Fifth International Conference on Electronic Warfare is the latest event in the internationally acclaimed EWCI Conference Series in India, in the field of Electronic Warfare and related areas. The Conference is being organised by the much Awarded India Chapter of Association of Old Crows (AOC), Bangalore. The Conference has the active support of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Government of India, Ministry of Defence and the Defence Public Sector Unit (DPSU), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bangalore. The Conference is envisaged to be of great use for Modern Armed Forces, Military Planners, Developers, Procurers, Testers, Trainers and Vendors of the latest EW Technologies and Systems. Past Conferences in the Series attracted large delegations from Indian Armed Services, DRDO, Defence PSUs, National and International EW Professionals. 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 visualised to be an important platform for EW Professionals who would share the Research and Development output in the field of EW at the global level. Hence the theme of the Conference is chosen as "EW: SHARE FOR SUCCESS."
Learn More...

 

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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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INDUSTRY NEWS: Navy Essay: How the F-35C Will Change Naval Aviation

As the first director for the Navy’s F-35C Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Fleet Integration Office, I have enjoyed the opportunities and challenges of bringing fifth-generation strike-fighter capabilities to the fleet. As this highly advanced weapons system matures, I am convinced the F-35C will be a cornerstone platform that plays a crucial role in mission success for Carrier Air Wings (CVW), Carrier Strike Groups (CSG) and numbered fleets. The F-35C will be a game-changer for the Navy. The F-35C Lightning II will introduce next generation strike-fighter aircraft capabilities to the Navy CVW , enabling the CSG and numbered fleets to effectively engage and survive a wide range of rapidly evolving threats, both air and surface, in contested airspace. (Scout Warrior)
Learn More...

 

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As the Army both advances its posture within cyberspace and other nonkinetic domains of warfare and pushes ahead with emerging multi-domain concepts, one of the more critical elements is developing doctrine to inform commanders how they can leverage the capabilities resident in these spheres. The Army published an update to its field doctrine in April in the way of cyber and electromagnetic activities known as "Field Manual 3-12," the first such manual. (Army Times)
Learn More...

 

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In his first interview, the man overseeing the Air Force’s attempt to build the first truly global command and control system says it will demand major changes to the US military. Multi-Domain Command & Control will demand changes to how America commands its troops around the world, to acquisition, to Air Force culture and its personnel system, and to the state of the art in military software. (Breaking Defense)
Learn More...

 

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Echoing through a remote part of one of the Army’s largest U.S. training sites in the desert of the American southwest is a Top 40 song coming from an infantryman’s cracked tablet glinting in the hot sun. The soldier has a variety of frequencies listed on the screen that his electronic warfare system has picked up. In this case, he’s found an FM radio station to demonstrate his ability to find, track and pinpoint signals, as well as decipher whether those signals are coming from friendlies, from the surrounding civilian population or from enemy forces. (Defense News)
Learn More...

 

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The risk of cyber attacks targeting ships' satellite navigation is pushing nations to delve back through history and develop back-up systems with roots in World War Two radio technology. Ships use GPS (Global Positioning System) and other similar devices that rely on sending and receiving satellite signals, which many experts say are vulnerable to jamming by hackers. (Fortune)
Learn More...

 

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INDUSTRY NEWS: Navy Proves High Readiness Levels During Carrier’s Sustainment Phase Leads to Maintenance Savings Later

Maintaining very high readiness during a carrier strike group’s post-deployment sustainment phase actually saves the Navy money later on, the service found, despite fears that budget constraints might hinder the Navy from making the most of that time in a ship’s deployment cycle. Under the Navy’s Optimized Fleet Response Plan, a ship undergoes routine maintenance and modernization, conducts pre-deployment workups, deploys overseas, and then comes home for a "sustainment phase" of as long as a year before heading back to the shipyard for more maintenance. Carrier strike groups in the sustainment phase could be sent back overseas for a full-length deployment in a major contingency, used locally for training, sent to respond to natural disasters if needed, or whatever the Navy and Joint Chiefs tasked it to do. (USNI News)
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INDUSTRY NEWS: US to Develop Wearable SIGINT Tech

The United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) has put out a request for information for a wearable SIGINT collection device as a way to assess what high-tech gear can be provided by industry. The base requirements made by the command were for a body-worn sensor with low size weight and power (SWaP) demands and a low-profile direction-finding sensor. In addition, the request included some 87 different attributes that SOCOM would like in the sensors, some of which would seem particularly useful for commandos operating behind enemy lines who are in danger of capture. The system, according to the defensesystem.com report "shall have the ability to be reset to zero upon command". In terms of signals collection, the sensor should be capable of monitoring a frequency range of 3 to 6,000 MHz. (i-HLS)
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