AOC 2021, the Association of Old Crow’s International Symposium & Convention, is less than six weeks away. This much-anticipated return to an in-person event will take place at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center from Nov. 30 – Dec. 2.

Check out everything happening in our packed exhibit hall.

Latest Agenda
The agenda is coming together nicely! View the latest schedule.

Register before the price increases
If you have not registered, take advantage of a lower rate before Nov. 5.

Last Chance to Sign-up for Volunteers
Our volunteers are critical to the success of AOC 2021, interested in being a part of this year's event? Find out more at crows.org/2021Volunteer.

Hotel Information
Be sure to book your room at this year's host hotel, the newly renovated, upscale Courtyard/Residence Inn by Marriott Downtown/Convention Center!

Booth Space Selling Out!
Learn more about exhibitor benefits, rates and how to reserve your booth at 58.crows.org. You can also contact Sean Fitzgerald at Fitzgerald@crows.org or 703-549-1600 x222 for more information.

Only 11 days remain to vote for the AOC Board of Directors elections! Be sure to exercise your right as a member of this organization to decide on our future by voting!

You should have received an email with an username and password from our independent election service - Elections On-Line. This password is secure and unique to you. If you didn't see the email from Elections On-Line, try checking your spam folder. If you have not received it, please contact Glorianne O'Neilin.

All AOC members will be able to vote for President-Elect and two At-Large Directors. Members in the Central Region, Mid-Atlantic Region and Mountain West Region will be able to vote for their respective Regional Directors (only members of a region can vote for their director.)

Learn more about the candidates. You can read their platforms and watch some of their videos!

Voting ends Oct. 31, so don't delay! Vote now.

STEM Competition Now Open!

The AOC STEM Program invites students in grades 9-12 to submit a one- to five-minute video for the chance to win $2,000 for their group and gain access to member benefits to enhance their future career goals. AOC recognizes the importance of educating and guiding the next generation of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians using an interdisciplinary and applied approach. 

Competition Opens: Oct. 1.
Competition Closes: Nov. 30.

This contest aims to encourage and support student STEM groups to consider the electromagnetic spectrum in their studies. The competition is a chance for your school or STEM team to work on a fun project with an AOC Mentor, learn about the electromagnetic spectrum and how it applies to everyday life and a future career. In addition, this competition is an opportunity to win a significant financial award for your school/group and a chance to be informative, inventive, artistic, scientific, technical and creative in a short video.

Learn more.

AOC Europe 2021

Thank you all those who joined us last week at #AOCEurope2021! It was great to join the EW Community in-person again and discuss 'Integrating Electromagnetic Effects across all Domains'.

Register interest for AOC Europe 2022 in Montpellier, France!

Learn More

Dr. John O’Hara lived a VERY full life, taking advantage of every moment to make the world a better place for his family and his country. He was affectionately known as “Dad,” “Grandpa,” “Uncle Buddy,” “Dr. John” or “Mr. Buc” by those who loved him. He passed away on Monday, Oct. 11 from prostate cancer.

Eliminating the Pain of Transitioning EW Systems from Lab Tests to Field Tests
Oct. 21 | 2-3 p.m. EDT

We've all been there. The EW system worked beautifully in the lab. It passed all engineering tests and simulator-in-the-loop scenarios. But when you took it to the range, the system failed to meet expectations and requirements. Something was different - but what? Was it the live environment? Were the targets configured improperly? Did the system even really work in the first place? Why weren't these issues discovered during lab tests? There were too many variables and instead of T&E and V&V, you got FP & NC (finger pointing and name calling).

In this webinar, David Murray of D-Ta Systems will present a novel approach that will streamline and de-risk lab test to field test transition by utilizing low-cost portable record/playback systems in conjunction with cutting edge spectrum simulation capabilities. David will explain and demonstrate how to capture and record a live range spectrum environment and then enhance it with simulated threats and emitters for realistic, repeatable, and most importantly - environmentally representative lab testing. You will save a tremendous amount of time, money and headache by capturing, enhancing and replaying live spectrum environments in your lab tests instead of synthesizing non-representative simulation environments. Let David show you how to bring the real world into your lab.

Register now.

AOC continues to connect Electromagnetic Warfare practitioners, industry partners, policymakers and procurement decision-makers.

The year 2020 was a massive interruption to life and business, changing how we work, how we connect and forced us into a new way of doing things. We have created new ways to connect and share with our members through these changing times. We have taken events to a virtual space and created new and exciting opportunities for our members to continue looking to AOC as industry leaders.

Now more than ever it's important to keep in touch and AOC sponsorships are a great way to be part of what's happening right now in the electromagnetic spectrum operations (EMSO) industry.

Partner with AOC to increase your reach!
By partnering with AOC, Industry Partners have a variety of ways to connect with members throughout the year. Stay relevant to your customer base, participate in high-level discussions and, most importantly, nurture relationships with key contacts.

Learn more.

Accelerating Open Systems Architecture
Open Systems Architecture (OSA) is changing the defense electronics market and the business dynamics of today’s Department of Defense (DOD). The Modular Open System Approach (MOSA) can streamline US military capabilities and enable technological agility, adaptability and speed of development for an advantage in modern combat. With the Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) Consortium releasing new technical standards this month, From the Crows’ Nest host Ken Miller sits down with Dr. Ilya Lipkin from the US Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and Mr. Ben Peddicord from the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command to discuss this new standards benchmark and how the Tri-Services – Army, Air Force and Navy – plan to leverage MOSA for development of advance warfighting technology.

To learn more about today’s topics or to stay updated on EMSO and EW developments, visit our website.

Start Listening now.

Thank you to our episode sponsor.

Lucas ”Luke” Kinser faithfully serves as the technical lead for the Mercer Engineering Research Center Laboratory Intelligence Validated Emulator (LIVE) Test and Evaluation (T&E) team supporting the Electronic Warfare and Avionics Integrated Support Facility (EWAISF) at Robins AFB. In this role, Luke assists the EWAISF by leading their Closed-Loop T&E efforts. These efforts utilize the LIVE systems along with other Closed-Loop assets. He is also involved in several associated developments designed to augment the integration and application of these Closed-Loop systems in the EWAISF and other facilities. His efforts enable 24/7 T&E operations, thereby increasing survivability and lethality of our warfighters in contested environments.

Luke is leading the LIVE T&E efforts to posture the T&E community in preparations to support next-gen EW systems through a programmable, modular, and expandable EW system capable of direct-inject low-power Radio Frequency (RF) engagement in a lab environment. During the past year, Luke distinguished himself by operating LIVE systems for approximately 100 T&E events and capability demonstrations directly supporting Northrop Grumman operational flight program and ACC 16 EWS technique updates for the ALQ-161, GTRI adaptive digital technology testing for the Angry Kitten pod and F-16 next-gen EW system development.

Outside of the lab, Luke continues to seek education opportunities focused on the Electromagnetic Spectrum. He is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering with an Electronic Warfare Specialization at Georgia Southern. 

The Association of Old Crows is pleased to provide its online Career Center – the premier resource to connect career opportunities with highly qualified EW, EMSO, CEMA, SIGINT, ELINT & IO talent. You can access the AOC Career Center at https://careers.crows.org.

Featured Jobs:

• EW/RF Systems Engineer – Arcata Associates – Point Mugu, California, United States
• RF Engineer – Integration Innovation, Inc. (i3) –  Huntsville, Alabama, United States

Continuing Resolution, Continuing Technical Advancements with Dr. Bill Conley, CTO, Mercury Systems
Oct. 27 | 12-1 p.m. EDT

This webinar will talk about how rapid integration of technology, largely through open standards, is paramount to being able to gain, and sustain, a technology overmatch without introducing unnecessary complexity into the tactical and operational levels of war. The talk is particularly focused on EMSO systems given their dependence on globally sourced advanced semiconductors.

Speaker: Dr. Bill Conley, CTO, Mercury Systems

Northrop Grumman executives say the company is now offering a next-generation signals intelligence architecture that has won at least one contract. (C4ISRNet)

Across the defense establishment, government officials have declined to comment on a recent report that China fielded a nuclear-capable hypersonic weapon in August, but on Oct. 19, defense policy nominee Alexandra Baker told senators there was a “sense of urgency” for the Defense Department to develop similar capabilities. (Air Force Magazine)

In a Q&A with William Guyan, senior vice president and general manager of Leonardo DRS Land Electronics, Breaking Defense discusses how AC²ES (A-PNT Converged Computer-Embedded and Scalable) can provide immediate A-PNT capabilities through the Mounted Family of Computer Systems (MFoCS). (Breaking Defense)