SAN DIEGO, 16 Jan. 2008. Howard Pace, Deputy Joint Program Executive Officer, for the Joint Tactical Radio System (DJPEO JTRS) program will headline the Military Communications session at the Military & Aerospace Electronics Forum on March 11, 2008 at 3:30 pm at the San Diego Convention Center.
Pace's presentation 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.
Following Pace at 4:00 pm is Larry Williams, director of business development for ITT Industries. Williams will be speaking on SDR and COTS (commercial-off-the-shelf) applications. While the JTRS program has been the driver behind SDR technology it is not the only application that can benefit from its capabilities. COTS versions of SDR equipment and tools are being developed to fill the gaps in tactical radio systems till JTRS is deployed as well as in other applications worldwide. This presentation will discuss how to leverage SDR as a COTS technology with an open architecture in other defense applications as well as in homeland security circles.
Next up in the Military Communications Session at 4:30 pm is Richard Williams, Vice Principal Director, GIG Enterprise Services Engineering at the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). He will speak on "Ground Fiber and Networking for the Global Information Grid."
Within the Global Information Grid (GIG) gateway terminals receive high capacity downlinks from relay, commercial and Department of Defense communication satellites. Inside the U.S. and at selected sites outside of the U.S., these gateways connect via standard optical interface and fiber to the terrestrial segments of the GIG and other associated terrestrial high-speed government networks. This presentation will discuss the latest trends in implementing ground fiber and the associated networking capability for the GIG in DOD networks.
Closing out the session at 5:00 pm will be Rick Jones, director of the Global Government Solutions Group at Cisco Systems. He will speak on the "IPv6 Affect on Military Systems." The U.S. federal government is upgrading to Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6). The upgrade will affect all military communications programs. The new standard will enable a broadband, on-demand global Internet based on IP for warfighters worldwide. This presentation will cover utilization of Internet Protocol Version 6 on military systems and how industry can enable the transition.
The Military Communications Session Chair and Moderator is Pat Ryan, member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics Forum Advisory Board and director of defense initiatives for the Global Government Solutions Group at Cisco Systems.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for C3, Space, and Spectrum, Dr. Ronald Jost, will give the keynote address. 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.
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.
DOD and industry leaders will discuss how to meet these challenges and more throughout the conference program.
Other session topics include: COTS integration and use, COTS lessons learned from Iraq, IPv6 and its affect on military systems, 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 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 email [email protected].
