Program

Description

Within OUSD R&E, there are three Directorates of Defense Research and Engineering. The Directorate for Modernization sets the strategic technical direction and investment strategy for DoD; the Directorate for Research and Technology ensures the DoD’s science and technology enterprise is postured to develop the next generation of game-changing technologies and enable rapid delivery of superior capabilities to the warfighter; while the Directorate for Advanced Capabilities accelerates and prototypes more mature technologies, ensuring the integration of new technology into the joint force. In this session, the leaders of each office will discuss what it means to accelerate technology transition to ensure technical dominance on the battlefield.

Moderator

• Laura McGill
  Vice President, Engineering, Raytheon Missile Systems

Speakers

• James Faist
  Director, Defense Research and Engineering for Advanced Capabilities
• JihFen Lei
  Acting Director, Defense Research and Engineering for Research and Technology
• Mark Lewis
  Director, Defense Research and Engineering for Modernization

Description

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Description

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Description

In 2018 and 2019, DEFENSE Forum attendees heard Mike Griffin, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, describe his top modernization priorities, the critical areas identified in the National Defense Strategy the R&E enterprise is built around. In the past two years, he has brought in Assistant Directors for each priority, serving as Department-wide “portfolio managers.” They are charged with establishing and advising Department leadership on budgetary and programmatic priorities, to ensure the Department is focused on fostering technological dominance, securing the unquestioned superiority of the American joint force. The R&E ADs will provide an update on their respective technology development and the critical roles government, industry, and academia play in getting these technologies to the warfighter.

Panelists

• Thomas Karr
  Assistant Director, Directed Energy, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
• Nicole Petta
  Assistant Director, Microelectronics, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
• Alexander Titus
  Assistant Director, Biotechnology, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
• Michael White
  Assistant Director, Hypersonics, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
• Michael Zatman
  Assistant Director, Fully Networked Command, Control and Communications (FNC3), Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering

Description

"The United States must outpace existing and potential rogue state and rogue actor offensive missile capabilities. To do so, the country will continue to sustain, modernize, and expand the Missile Defense System and pursue the rapid, yet measured, development of advanced missile defense concepts and technologies for homeland and regional defense."(Missile Defense Agency Director’s Vision and Intent, p. 3) How can government, industry and academia work together to advance critical missile defense capabilities?

Speakers

• VADM Jon A. Hill, USN
  Director, Missile Defense Agency

Description

The 2018 National Defense Strategy is clear that a more lethal force and technological innovation are key to generating a decisive and sustained advantage. What do our warfighters need from the aerospace community in order to become a “more lethal, resilient, and rapidly innovating Joint Force” in an era of multi-domain warfare? Hear from a Combatant Commander (invited) on his operational needs as well as near- and long-term requirements.

Description

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Description

“Innovation without execution is hallucination.” DoD Research and Development (R&D) is charged with taking fundamental research and applying it to technologies for the warfighter. Hear about current and future projects, upcoming opportunities, and how these organizations enable the research community to transition ideas to technological advantages.

Panelists

• RADM David Hahn, USN
  Chief of Naval Research, Director of Innovation, Technology Requirements and Test & Evaluation (OPNAV N94), Office of Naval Research
• Michael Leahy
  Director, Tactical Technology Office, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
• Jagadeesh Pamulapati
  Director, Laboratories and Personnel, Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering for Research and Technology
• Philip Perconti
  Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology and Army Chief Scientist

Description

“Maintaining the Department’s technological advantage will require changes to industry culture, investment sources, and protection across the National Security Innovation Base.” (National Defense Strategy [Unclassified], p. 3) The sense of urgency is driving a new environmental dynamic in industry, but how can we accelerate through the “valley of death”? Industry leaders respond to DoD modernization priorities and address requirements for fielding technologies at the speed of relevance.

Panelists

• John Zolper
  Vice President, Research and Innovation, Raytheon Company
• Naveed Hussain
  VP and General Manager, Boeing Research & Technology
• David Steffy
  Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Northrop Grumman Space Systems

To Be Confirmed

• James Carlini
  Chief Technology Officer, Leidos
• David Miller
  Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, The Aerospace Corporation
• Steven Walker
  Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Lockheed Martin Corporation

Description

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Description

“Incorporating these technologies in military systems that collaborate with warfighters will facilitate better decisions in complex, time-critical, battlefield environments; enable a shared understanding of massive, incomplete, and contradictory information; and empower unmanned systems to perform critical missions safely and with high degrees of autonomy.” (DARPA)

Panelists

• Nand Mulchandani
  Chief Technical Officer, Joint Artificial Intelligence Center
• Jason Stack
  Director, Ocean, Atmosphere, and Space Research Division, and Portfolio Manager, Autonomy, Office of Naval Research

Description

Autonomous systems – enabled by advancement in sensor and control technologies, artificial intelligence, data science, and machine learning – promise to deliver new and exciting applications to a broad range of industries. However, a fundamental trust in their application and execution must be established in order for them to succeed. People, by and large, do not trust a new entity or system in their environment without some evidence of trustworthiness. To trust an autonomous system, we need to know which factors affect system behaviors, how those factors can be assessed and effectively applied for a given mission, and the risks assumed by trusting.

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