Aardvark Roost to host electronic warfare conference

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The local chapter of the Association of Old Crows (AOC), Aardvark Roost, is hosting its fourth International Electronic Warfare (EW) conference in Pretoria next month.

The biennial conference will be held at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) International Convention Centre (ICC) outside Pretoria on September 4 and 5 and will feature some 25 speakers from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), the CSIR, academic institutions and private industry.

Speakers are coming from the Universities of Cape Town, Pretoria and KwaZulu-Natal while industry representatives will include GEW Technologies, Rohde & Schwarz and Saab. A sizeable delegation from the CSIR will also be present, along with SANDF speakers.

Topics will include border protection, battlefield management, communications jamming, technology advances, electronic warfare in times of austerity, South African electronic warfare research and more.

This year’s theme is “Management of the Electromagnetic Spectrum (EMS) in the modern scenario of irregular warfare conducted in current operational environments.”

Aardvark Roost notes that electronic warfare has to evolve in order to keep up with the adaptions and deceptions of communication, radar and electro-optical systems. Evolution is also needed as the electromagnetic spectrum becomes more congested and new waveforms evolve both in the commercial and military domains.

In addition, security operations have become more asymmetrical and operations other than war are becoming more important, such as peacekeeping, border safeguarding and anti-piracy. For this reason the electronic warfare community needs to make better use of the knowledge and equipment it has.

As a result, the electronic warfare conference will focus on future capabilities in electronic warfare and on the African situation.

A dedicated section of the conference will showcase work done by students at various South African universities in the field of electronic warfare and on September 3, the day before the conference begins, the South African Radar Interest Group (SARIG) will host a radar conference at the CSIR ICC.

Aardvark Roost is managed by senior members from defence industry, defence research institutes like the CSIR and Armscor. The Association of Old Crows is an international professional organization specializing in electronic warfare, tactical information operations, and associated fields. Its mission is to “advocate the need for a strong defence capability emphasizing electronic warfare and information operations to government, industry, academia, and the public.” The AOC is headquartered in the United States.

More information can be found at www.aardvarkaoc.co.za