Electronic warfare (EW) not only plays a dominant role in worldwide defense capabilities, but it also must evolve rapidly to counter new threats and take advantage of new technology. Each advance must take into account the ever-changing system design landscape.

Shrink it down but bolster the processing power. Engineer it so it’s light enough to fly on an airborne platform but never overheats. These are the contradicting design challenges manufacturers still face when building power supplies for military applications. Innovations in the field are ongoing, and both standardization consortia and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) are starting to phase out antiquated power supplies.

There are many pitfalls to keep an eye on when assessing whether a current or potential enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is fit-for-purpose in defense and aerospace manufacturing. Making the wrong choice could leave a manufacturer hamstrung when looking to transform their operations, with existing software requiring expensive customizations, providing limited deployment options, offering little business intelligence or – a very bad situation – compromising security.

The U.S. military is harnessing and exploring algorithms and machine learning, not just on the ground but also 300-plus miles aloft for small-form-factor space applications.

The U.S. Army CCDC [Combat Capabilities Development Command] C5ISR Center’s C5ISR/EW [Command, Control, Communication, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance/Electronic Warfare] Modular Open Suite of Standards (CMOSS) defines an open architecture that reduces the size, weight, power, and cost of systems deployed on ground vehicles by enabling in-vehicle hardware and software resources to be shared. A panel on CMOSS at a U.S. Army Technical Exchange Meeting held earlier this year provided details on new developments underway and areas in which the Army is looking to industry for help in taking the suite of standards from prototype to deployment.

We’ve all heard the phrase “the graying of the workforce,” especially when it refers to the engineering and defense industries. It’s a fact that the average age for electrical and electronics engineers – many of whom are engaged in the defense industry – is older compared to the median age of other American workers. The median age of employed electrical and electronics engineers in 2019 was 44 years old, according to the most recent information from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

At MilSource, our technical team often get questions on how to more easily manage the “networks” now living and communicating on every mobile military vehicle. Implementation teams and integrators are faced with the daunting task of managing hundreds of networks that are the same set of devices just repeated in every mobile vehicle.