Page 15 - Armed Forces Directory - Aberdeen Proving Ground

Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD

Rapid changing technology

Schwartz said yearly CEMA conferences are needed because EW is threat- driven,
so we need to ensure the government and industry partners are moving in the
right direction.

“The Army is taking a hard look at electronic warfare requirements, so having this
conference as another avenue to both share and learn about the cutting-edge
research and advancements in this space is definitely important because we want
to make sure we’re doing it right,” Schwartz said.

Bertoli noted that the conference’s Secret classification level better enables
industry partners to find out about the requirements needed for EW solutions
directly from the acquisition, Science and Technology, and user communities.

“Innovation happens in this space all the time, so it’s important to keep all the
key stakeholders abreast of the latest research and developments. One of the
things that distinguishes this from some of the other conferences is that we’re
fully classified, so we get to talk at levels that are relevant to the work we need
to do,” he said.

Schwartz and Bertoli said three organizations team up to host the conference: the
U.S. Army DEVCOM C5ISR Center, PEO IEW&S, and the Association of the Old
Crows, an international nonprofit professional organization specializing in EW,
tactical information operations, and associated disciplines. Other organizations
- like APG Garrison, the Army Test and Evaluation Command, the Network
Cross Functional Team, the Army Research Laboratory, and the U.S. Army
Communications-Electronics Command - provide support as well.

CECOM provides sustainment support for the capabilities that will be discussed
at this year’s conference.

“CECOM sustains our hardware and software for these capabilities once they
are in the field, so they have interest in what we’re talking about during the
conference,” Schwartz said.

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