Thought Leadership

Event Date: Wednesday, February 15, 2023 @ 9:00 AM (PST)

A one-hour, must-see industry panel event featuring four top U.S. defense experts presenting their unique perspectives and insider insights on this timely and consequential topic. Panelists will answer questions from the audience.

Event Panelists

Dr. Thomas Withington – An award-winning analyst and writer specializing in electronic warfare, radar and military communications. He has written widely on these subjects for a range of specialist and general publications. He also works as a consultant and adviser in these areas for several leading government and private sector clients. Furthermore, Dr. Withington provides regular commentary on security and defense aspects of electromagnetic spectrum use for major media organizations around the world.

August Cole – A Non-resident Senior Fellow, Brent Scowcroft Center on Strategy & Security.  Mr. Cole is an author exploring the future of conflict through fiction and other forms of “FICINT” [Fictional Intelligence] storytelling, including the novels “Ghost Fleet” and “Burn-In” co-written with Peter W. Singer. He is a founder of Useful Fiction LLC.

General William S. Wallace – Retired from active duty on January 1, 2009 after 39 ½ years of active service that spanned 5 decades.  During his career, General Wallace commanded at every level from platoon to Corps and on two separate occasions led Soldiers in combat.  In 2003 as the V Corps Commander, General Wallace led the coalition attack to Baghdad in Operation Iraqi Freedom.  In 1972, he served as a military advisor in Bac Lieu Province of Vietnam.  General Wallace’s last assignment was as Commander, US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC).  General Wallace holds Masters Degrees from the Naval Postgraduate School in Operations Research, Salve Regina University in International Relations, and from the Naval War College in National Security Affairs.  General Wallace is a member of the U.S. Army’s Fort Leavenworth Hall of Fame.  In 2018 General Wallace was selected as a Distinguished Graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

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Wednesday, May 25, 2022

A one-hour industry panel event featuring four top U.S. defense experts presenting their unique perspectives and insider insights on this timely and consequential topic.

The panelists highlight the multiple, interdependent components of interoperability necessary to achieve tactical, operational and strategic military objectives in the battlespaces of today and tomorrow.
 
Event Panelists: General William S. Wallace (U.S. Army Retired), Jeremiah "J.J" Gertler, FRAes (Sr. Analyst, The Teal Group), Honorable James "Hondo" Geurts (Former Dept. of the U.S. Navy and Special Operations Command Acquisition Executive) and Roger Hill (Principal Deloitte)

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The future of multi-domain operation will, in part, be written by unmanned systems operating at the tactical edge, either individually or as part of a swarm, with interoperability for both manned-unmanned and unmanned-unmanned teaming operations. Because they’re concepts of operation and not programs, multi-domain operations and Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) have been viewed as all things to all people and expected to solve all problems. Viewed that way, they’re more akin to the Collatz Conjecture — a

supposedly simple math problem that nobody can solve — than to a normal DoD procurement program.

The future of warfare and the Defense Department’s latest concept of operations—specifically all-domain operations and distributed operations—will be written by unmanned systems operating at the tactical edge, either individually or as part of a swarm, with interoperability for both manned-unmanned and unmanned-unmanned teaming operations.

In this interview with Wahid Nawabi, chairman, president and chief executive officer of AeroVironment, we discuss how expensive military assets can be replaced and augmented with more affordable and attritable unmanned systems enabled by the meshing of autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, machine learning and edge computing.

Join us for a replay of our Mars Helicopter press event that includes the unveiling of the Earth Copter, the only working twin of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter that can fly in Earth’s gravity and atmosphere. This event includes a demo of the Earth Copter and the Nano Hummingbird along with Q&A.

In connection with the C4ISRNET Virtual Conference - AeroVironment’s Scott Newbern talks with Rose Shilling (Editor, C4ISRNET) about Drones at the Edge, and how intelligent unmanned robotics are being used in innovative ways across multiple domains.

The role of technology on the modern battlefield remains as important as ever as armed forces prepare to engage with highly capable adversaries in the age of Great Power Competition. Examples include NATO’s eastern flank, where a re-assertive Russian Federation continues to destabilize the region, and the Indo-Pacific where the People’s Republic of China consistently shifts the regional balance of power. Click here to download full PDF.

Future Defining Capabilities At the Battlefield’s Edge:

Small unmanned aircraft systems and tactical missile systems are transforming the capabilities of the front-line warfighter operating in today’s most dangerous environments. This session will address the ever-evolving threats across multi-domain operations, and how tactical unmanned aerial assets are enabling ground forces to proceed with certainty - gaining situational awareness and delivering precision strike capabilities at the battlefield’s edge. Join AeroVironment to learn how advancements in Unmanned Tactical Air Power is benefiting small unit forces and the technology innovations that are re-defining the future for UAS.

Moderated Panel Discussion:

- Moderator: Steve Gitlin, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, AeroVironment

- AV SME Speaker Panel:

• Gorik Hossepian, Vice President, Product Line Management, UAS, AeroVironment
• Scott Newbern, Vice President and CTO, AeroVironment

For nearly 20 years the United States Department of Defense (DoD) has planned, trained, equipped and engaged in counter-insurgency (COIN) operations around the world against adversaries whose technical and numerical disadvantages require them to employ asymmetric tactics. Today, U.S. and allied military planners are increasingly shifting their focus to a new era of great power competition against peer or near-peer threats that possess the ability to project power over distance and deny ready access to contested areas. Click here to download full PDF.

AeroVironment’s Scott Newbern delivered the Keynote Address “AeroVironment – A Fifty Year Old Startup,” discussing the company’s culture of innovation, factors that have driven our success and provided guidance to robotics technology startups working on DoD innovation initiatives.