Top Pentagon executive to keynote Military & Aerospace Electronics Forum March 11-12 in San Diego
SAN DIEGO, 30 Jan. 2008. U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for C3, Space, and Spectrum Dr. Ronald Jost will keynote the Military & Aerospace Electronics Forum March 11-12, 2008 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego.
Dr. Jost, who serves in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration, will be discussing "the Global Information Grid (GIG) and Network Architectures," a presentation describing the GIG and the importance of network architectures in addressing major portfolio issues.
Prior to assuming this position in 2004, Dr. Jost was the Principal Deputy for the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, and the Director for Wireless. Dr. Jost was a corporate vice president with Motorola before joining the Department of Defense. During his tenure at Motorola, he served as the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) Group General Manager and as Chief Architect for Motorola infrastructures. He also served as the Vice-President, Chief Architect and Engineer for the Motorola Space and Systems Technology Group, and the Chief Engineer and Systems Manager for the IRIDIUM Program.
The forum theme is Under the COTS Umbrella and content will touch on how innovation in COTS electronics affects defense applications today especially for urgent warfighter needs such as counter- IED (improvised explosive device) technology. These programs put immense pressure on suppliers and integrators to get technology deployed as fast as possible, creating new challenges when it comes to integrating COTS technology.
Following Dr. Jost is Dr. Stephen M. Jarrett, chief technologist of the U.S. Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems (SPAWAR) Charleston. Jarrett will discuss solutions to COTS integration challenges and other issues facing defense COTS electronics designers at SPAWAR Charleston. His organization is instrumental in developing and employing life-cycle logistic solutions for warfighter systems.
Jarrett will then join a panel discussion at 10:00 am focused on when and where COTS solutions should be used in future defense systems and how to deal with their negatives.
Other prominent speakers include Dr. Robin Keesee, deputy director for the Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) will discuss a "Roadmap for COTS Technology/Electronics in a Fast-moving Threat Environment such as IEDs" at 2:00 pm on March 11.
Also speaking on the first day is Howard Pace, Deputy Joint Program Executive Officer, for the Joint Tactical Radio System (DJPEO JTRS) program. Pace's presentation is a t 3:00 pm and will be on "Software Defined Radio (SDR) Technology and the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Program." SDR technology will enable warfighters with different radios communicating on different frequencies to communicate seamlessly on future battlefields. A software defined radio basically enables radios using different waveforms.
As the DJPEO JTRS, Pace is responsible for overseeing the JTRS program, which is a mobile, ad hoc networking program to provide voice and data to warfighters via a variety of military and civilian radio systems. Pace was named the DJPEO in December 2006. He currently serves on the Department of Defense Board of Directors, as the JTRS Representative at the Global Information Grid (GIG) Senior Systems Engineering Board.
Session topics include: COTS integration panel discussion, COTS acquisition, software defined radio and the Joint Tactical Radio System program, IPv6 and its affect on military systems, COTS lessons learned from Iraq, information assurance, software security standards, ITAR and import/export issues panel discussion, and thermal and power management for warfighter systems.
The Military & Aerospace Electronics Forum is brought to you by Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine and targets innovation in electronics solutions for defense applications. Presentations are geared specifically for program managers, engineering managers, and engineers at first- second- and third-tier defense contractors who need to understand the programs, opportunities, and latest innovations in defense electronics.
The event, formerly called the Military Technologies Conference, was renamed to better align it with the magazine and to provide readers a live forum to discuss the technological issues and applications covered in the publication. The forum moved to San Diego because Southern California is where many of the magazine's readers are located.
The content will reflect the hottest topics from Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine such as network-centric communications, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) procurement issues, software defined radio technology, and power management.
In addition to the conference, there will be an exhibition that is a collaborative environment conducive to productive discussions, exchanging ideas, meeting new business partners, and reconnecting with current customers.
For more information on registering for the event, or for hotel information, please visit the forum website at www.milaeroforum.com. To find out more about exhibiting or sponsoring the Military & Aerospace Electronics Forum, contact Jeff Gallagher at 603-891-9147 or e-mail [email protected].
