BOSTON, March 2006. Notable and knowledgeable attendees and exhibitors contributed to the success of this year's Military Technologies Conference, which was held March 14th and 15th in Boston's John B. Hynes Convention Center.
Opening the conference, Col. Dave Madden, commander of the Enterprise Integration Systems Group of the Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base delivered a keynote on "The Challenges of Achieving a Net-Centric Environment." He expounded on the challenges facing the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) as it undertakes a transformation from weapon-centric to network-centric warfare.
"Electronic Systems Center (ESC), as the acquisition lead for the C4ISR enterprise, is working to address technical, business, and organizational challenges, but needs the help of industry to succeed," says Madden. "Executable business models, improved business processes, collaborative technical planning, and strong strategic partnerships are only a few of the key factors that will help us rapidly field net-centric C4ISR capabilities."
The keynote was followed by two feature presentations, the first of which was delivered by Ann Ganzer, director of the Office of Defense Trade Controls at the U.S. State Department. Throughout her talk, she imparted comprehensive information about the State Department's Office of Defense Trade Controls, which is involved in not only licensing, but also foreign policy.
Ganzer discussed the office's responsibilities, mission, and procedures, stressing the importance of export licensing and controls. She fielded a wealth of questions about import/export regulations, and advised contractors to fill out licensing applications completely, including the necessary signature, a simple explanation of what it is that the applicant intends to do, and all necessary supporting documentation (contracts, purchase orders, and so on).
Scott Lush, partner and chief analyst of Defense Commercialization Inc., followed Ganzer at the podium, to impart advice on tapping the unrealized commercial value of network-centric warfare technologies. Lush imparted methods for defense contractors to transition military technologies to the commercial market just as Lockheed Martin, Plantronics, iRobot, Qualcomm, Boeing, and Raytheon have been successful in doing.
The conference was divided into three modules¿"Open Architectures and Systems for Command and Control," "Network Centric Warfare in Practice," and "Thermal & Power Management for Military Systems Design"¿each containing sessions led by some of the best speakers in the industry. Both conference days, the sessions were flush with engineers, engineering managers, and program and project managers employed by prime contractors, subcontractors, systems integrators, and other defense electronics manufacturers in DOD, military, and commercial organizations.
Held concurrently with the conference sessions, the exhibition portion of MTC showcased key industry manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors demonstrating the latest products and technologies in military transformation.
For more information about the Military Technologies Conference visit www.miltechconference.com.
The 2006 Military Technologies Conference, held by Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, was co-sponsored by the National Military Intelligence Assoc., Defense Systems, Government Corporate News, and Washington Technology. Additional sponsors were: Intel, Sypris Test & Measurement, and White Electronic Designs Corp.
The Military Technologies Conference Boston is owned and produced by PennWell Corp. headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1910, PennWell is a highly diversified, business-to-business media company providing authoritative print and online publications, conferences and exhibitions, research, databases, online exchanges and information products to strategic global markets. For more information about PennWell visit www.pennwell.com.
