BOSTON, 14 March 2006. The 2006 Military Technologies Conference of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine began this morning in Boston's John B. Hynes Convention Center. A keynote address by Col. Dave Madden, commander of the Enterprise Integration Systems Group of the Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, opened the event.
Madden's keynote presentation, "The Challenges of Achieving a Net-Centric Environment," discussed the recent focus of the Department of Defense (DOD) on network-centric operations. A need exists for tools that share information and talk to each other, rather than just another new tool, as he sees it.
Following Madden's presentation, Ann Ganzer, director of the Office of Defense Trade Controls at the U.S. State Department, gave a talk centering on international traffic in arms regulations and import/export regulations. She stressed the importance of export licensing and controls, advising contractors to fill out licensing applications completely, including the necessary signature and a simple, "plain-English" explanation of what it is that the applicant intends to do with the goods to be exported.
Scott Lush, partner and chief analyst of Defense Commercialization Inc., then took to the podium and expounded on the unrealized commercial value of network-centric warfare technologies. Lush imparted methods for defense contractors to commercialize their technologies, to boost revenue and profit margins. Market leaders such as Lockheed Martin, Plantronics, iRobot, Qualcomm, Boeing, and Raytheon have all been successful in transitioning military technologies to the commercial realm.
For more on the 2006 Military Technologies Conference, keep an eye out for the April issue of Military & Aerospace Electronics.
