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The Navy's Electronic-Warfare Planes Could Soon Become 'Motherships' Industry News AOC News & Events AOC Chapter News and Events

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NEXT MONTH: Register Today for EW Singapore 2018, January 30-31
We live in a time of increasing uncertainty on many fronts.  Threats, challenges and opportunities are rising. Technology is accelerating. The world is undoubtedly changing and in unforeseen ways.  In terms of future warfare, national forces are being re-shaped and re-equipped to face an operational manoeuvre space that will be complex and connected, but constrained.  It may well be chaotic unless the right, informed choices are made now. The Asia-Pacific region is one of the most vital areas in the world and the focus of much change, but also of uncertainty. In terms of EW and electromagnetic operations, how can we make sense of these things? AOC EW Singapore 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, 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 consist of plenary sessions focusing on operations, defence capability development, and industry inventiveness including innovation and breakthrough technologies.

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SUPPORT AOC SCHOLARSHIPS when you shop this Holiday Season!
Support the Association of Old Crows' Scholarship Program while you complete your Christmas shopping! Go to www.smile.amazon.com/ch/54-1337848 and with every purchase, Amazon donates to the AOC Educational Foundation!

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CATCH UP ON All the News from the 54th Annual AOC International Symposium & Convention!
The 54th Annual AOC International Symposium & Convention has come and gone and the AOC couldn't be prouder. This year's convention and symposium had almost a 30% increase in attendees and a 10% increase in exhibitors resulting in dynamic sessions, an exceptional show floor and camaraderie among Crows. AOC looks forward to collectively making our community stronger and aims to grow and serve as your premier marketplace for business and professional development. Stay tuned for more information on the 55th Annual AOC International Symposium & Convention soon!

AOC Photo Gallery at Flickr

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AOC VIRTUAL SERIES: Space EW, January 11
Thursday, January 11 | 14:00-15:00 EST (19:00-20:00 UTC)

Space is an Electronic Warfare domain, just like land, sea and air. We significantly dependent on satellite assets and those assets are vulnerable to enemy kinetic or electronic attack.

In ground, sea and air based EW, the closer we get to targets, the better we can intercept or jam them. Satellite borne systems are by their nature far away—creating challenges that require careful consideration.

In this Webinar, we will discuss the nature of EW in space. First we will talk about the nature of Earth satellite orbits and their parameters. Satellites do not go where we want them to go in the short term; they go where they want to go. However, we can predict where they will be at any given time.

We will start by discussing satellite orbits, then (gently) discuss spherical trigonometry. Then we will cover some formulas for:
• The range between a satellite and an Earth surface threat
• Look angles from a satellite
• Doppler shift between Earth stations and satellites
• Satellite to Earth station and Earth surface threat link budgets
• How long a low Earth satellite can see a spot on the Earth’s surface
• How much of the Earth’s surface a satellite can see

Finally, we will briefly discuss two practical problems: Intercept and jamming of a threat on the Surface of the Earth from a satellite.

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CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS DUE JAN. 26: 47th Annual Collaborative EW Symposium, March 13-15, Pt. Mugu, CA

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 47th 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 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.

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS
This call for presentations challenges presenters to explore enabling collaborative electronic warfare through innovation and invention. We will accept presentations and/or demonstrations from all United States services, Department of Defense, industry, and academia that identify technical paths, options, and potential opportunities for EW collaboration. Specifically, abstracts should address one or more of the symposium sessions:

1. Planning/Directing/Assessing Collaborative EW. Collaborative EW is driving mission planning to a new reality. To achieve efficient coordination with and tasking of distributed and cognitive networked EW systems, mission planning needs to be capable of working with multiple disparate systems before, during, and after a mission. The challenges of enabling dynamic resource allocation by EW operators working with unmanned and cognitive systems at the tactical to operational levels need to be addressed.

2. Testing and Demonstration of Cognitive and Collaborative Systems. Improvements in the testing, modeling, and demonstration of collaborative EW systems against modern/next gen threats is essential to gaining and maintaining advantage in EW. Advancements in the Live Virtual Constructive infrastructure as well as collaboration with the gaming and other related commercial industries are examples of areas to be explored.

3. Autonomy vs. Control of Cognitive EW Systems. The optimal employment of cognitive and autonomous EW systems is a challenge for the designers and developers as well as the operators. The level of interaction required/desired between the operators and the cognitive EW systems in their span of control are functions of many factors including trust, reliability, speed, and awareness of changes by the cognitive systems.

Abstracts for presentations must be unclassified and no more than one page of text or 400 words. Please forward abstracts to Christine Armstrong at armstrong@crows.org no later than January 26. 2018. All sessions will be classified SECRET NOFORN.

Conference Details

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AOC VIRTUAL SERIES: Going from Microwaves to MM-Waves: What's the Same, What's Different, February 8
Thursday, February 8 | 14:00-15:00 EST (19:00-20:00 UTC)

With the rapid development of mm-wave (30 - 300 GHz) communications standards, and the availability of off-the-shelf components to enable these developments, the future EW and SIGINT practitioner will be called on to develop high quality receivers to match. Although Maxwell's equations may hold from DC to daylight, the same cannot be said for the design tools and techniques; similarly, there are some significant differences (and important similarities!) when moving system design from the microwave (3 - 30 GHz) to the mm-wave spectrum.

This talk presents a broad overview of these similarities and dissimilarities, starting with atmospheric propagation characteristics and an overview of the current systems operating in the band. The talk will then look in detail at components, materials, and packaging technology, as well as pointing out some issues in design and simulation. Finally, the presentation concludes with some notes on guided media and interconnects, as well as a discussion of equipment and measurement techniques.

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Gold Sponsors

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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 organized 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.
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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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Northrop Grumman is trying to convince the U.S. Navy to transform the branch’s EA-18G Growler electronic-warfare planes into motherships for small, slow-flying unmanned aerial vehicles that could extend the distance at which Growler crews can pinpoint enemy radars. The 12-foot-long "Dash X" drone fits inside the military’s Tactical Munition Dispenser. Deployed mid-flight and extending pop-out wings, the Dash X flies under its own power at a top speed of just 70 miles per hour. The drone carries an array of sensors and datalinks. (The National Interest)
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Experts discussed the latest trends in electronic warfare and ways to counter those threats at the Fifth Electronic Warfare Conference at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) in Riyadh on Tuesday, according to Arab News. The two-day conference, jointly organised by the KACST and the Ministry of Defense, was inaugurated by KACST President Prince Dr. Turki bin Saud bin Mohammed Al-Saudi. The inaugural ceremony was attended by the head of the general staff, Gen. Abdul Rahman Al-Bunyan, and other prominent civilian and security officials. (Tahawul Tech)
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The Pentagon, clearly looking ahead to bolster the defense industrial base, is taking steps to ease and speed Foreign Military Sales, and it has a pilot program underway to reduce the time it takes to execute program acquisition. But let’s be clear: this is not an acquisition reform story; it’s an acquisition improvement story. Why do I make the distinction? Because acquisition reform is much more a religious commitment, one that relies on the holy writ of law and DFAR to make things better. This story is about people and policy making things better. (Breaking Defense)
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The Pentagon's Inspector General has declassified an investigation into the U.S. Navy's Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program, finding waste of nearly $2 million and lengthening the acquisition process by about two years with inadequate results. The report, released Monday, found that the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program, managed by the Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems under Naval Sea Systems Command, did not effectively develop and manage electronic warfare capabilities for upgrades to the AN/SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare Suite. (UPI)
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The Russian defense industry is starting to look at concepts for a sixth-generation fighter that would eventually replace the Sukhoi Su-57 PAK-FA. Like the United States Air Force and the Navy, the Russians are looking at a wide range of concepts including manned-unmanned teaming, directed energy weapons and hypersonics. The Russians are also looking at novel radar and electro-optical sensor technologies that seem designed to counter stealth. One system under development for the potential new plane is a so-called radio-photonic radar. (The National interest)
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The Israeli Air Force has declared an initial operational capability, or IOC, with its F-35I Joint Strike Fighters, also known as Adir or "Mighty," makes it the first foreign operator to put the stealthy jets into active service. With Israel's air war over Syria heating up and tensions growing with Iran, the first examples are now ready for actual combat missions, but it doesn’t automatically mean they’ll be sling missiles or bombs on real targets just yet. (The Drive)
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Germany’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has contradicted the country’s air force chief in declaring that the Panavia Tornado should be replaced by the Eurofighter Typhoon rather than the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). Reuters reported on 11 December that the MoD’s stated position is that additional Typhoons should replace the Tornados from 2025, with the Boeing F-15 Eagle and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet being the preferred alternatives. The declaration, which was reportedly made in a letter to a German lawmaker, is in direct contradiction to views expressed by the chief of the Luftwaffe, Lieutenant General Karl Muellner, who in early November said it is his preference that the F-35 be the replacement platform. (Jane's)
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The U.S. Marine Corps wants to get back into the business of "itty bitty boats," potentially purchasing an entire family of small watercraft. The service says diminutive boats could give conventional and special operations Marines more flexibility, offering commanders new options for deploying smaller elements on discreet or distributed operations. U.S. Marine Corps Major General David Coffman, presently serving as the U.S. Navy’s director for expeditionary warfare, detailed the basic concept to Military.com on the sidelines of Navy League event in November 2017. (The Drive)
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