2019 MILCOM

Restricted Technical Panel: The Software-Defined Future of Air Force Communications and Networking (Room Main H)

14 Nov 19
9:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Tracks: Restricted Technical Panels, Restricted Technical Program

Speaker(s): John D. Matyjas, Ph.D., Chief Scientist, HQ ACC/ST, US Air Force Air Combat Command; Donna Cowell Senft, Ph.D., Chief Scientist, Air Force Global Strike Command, US Air Force; James Lyke, Ph.D., Space Vehicles Directorate, US Air Force Research Laboratory; Col William E. Young, Jr.,USAF, Ph.D., Special Advisor to the US Air Force Warfare Center Commander , US Air Force; Scott Pudlewski, Ph.D. , Information Directorate, US Air Force Research Laboratory; Joseph E. Vanderpoorten, Chief, SATCOM Advanced Concepts, Portfolio Architect Office, Space and Missile Systems Center, US Air Force; Michael Gudaitis, Air Force Research Laboratory, Principal Engineer, Airborne Data Link Systems

The "software-defined everything" paradigm shift challenges the status quo on how we view information technology (IT) infrastructure and information services provided therein.  This includes not just software-defined radio and networking, but also software-defined compute, storage, security, and data centers. Further, hardware advances dovetailing computing and apertures further fuels the digital revolution by enabling multi-function and multi-mission capabilities from a single aperture and/or distributed across many apertures. With the ability to execute multiple waveforms across multiple spectral bands, software-defined radios have not only opened the door to affordable, resilient communications with spectrum maneuverability, but also at the same time enabling networked electromagnetic spectrum operations from cyber to radar to electronic warfare. This panel will discuss the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats posed by this new paradigm and global accessibility of the technology.