Momentum behind the the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) modular open system approach (MOSA) mandate is growing, especially as it was reaffirmed by Army, Navy, and Air Force leadership at the end of 2024. In this podcast with Clif Basnight, Vice President, Strategic Technologies, Ultra Intelligence and Communications, we discuss MOSA and how to measure MOSA success; Ultra’s participation in the Sensor Open Systems Architecture, or SOSA, Consortium; speeding up defense acquisition; and engineering talent recruitment. We also discuss a concept Clif and his team are developing called sentient radio, which is different than the cognitive radio technology currently in use.

The demand for high-reliability RF components in military space applications is growing as is the use of commercial innovation in Low-Earth Orbit and other space domains, says Eliot Fine, Product Line Manager for Space and High Reliability Components, Analog Devices. In this podcast he and I discuss the space electronic market, radiation-hardening techniques,  as well as the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) modular open system approach (MOSA) mandate and how it impacts space systems. Eliot also details the RF signal chain, a concept developed by his team at Analog Devices. 

How artificial intelligence (AI) at the edge is defined often depends who you are speaking with and their market. For military electronics I think the best definition comes from Jake Braegelmann, Vice President of Business Development at New Wave Design, who says the edge is where the sensor collects the data and AI can enable the filtering of that data in real-time to get actionable intelligence to decision makers. In this podcast he and I discuss that concept in depth as well as the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) modular open system approach (MOSA) mandate. Jake talks about what it means to be aligned to the Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) Technical Standard and dives into some common misconceptions about the standard. He also shares news about his company’s recent name change and new website.

The defense technology community has a recruitment challenge on its hands when it comes to competing with the commercial technology world for engineering talent; this reality is especially true when it comes to growing the pool of women engineers. In this podcast with Maria Ho, Deputy Director for Government and Strategic Programs, Aerospace & Defense at Analog Devices, we discuss how to encourage female students to explore engineering careers, the importance of STEM in schools, and the ways in which Analog Devices invests in young engineers. Maria also talks about those people who have inspired her in her career and how popular culture can help inspire learners. She also examines RF and microwave design trends in radar, communications, and electronic warfare applications.

Leveraging metamaterials for radar designs, engineers at Echodyne are enhancing the capability of small radars for applications such a counter-UAS [uncrewed aircraft systems] in military applications. In this podcast with Tom Driscoll, Co-founder and CTO of Echodyne, he and I discuss how his team’s metamaterials electronically scanned array (MESA) radar system does thing that traditional active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar systems cannot, their unique business model, and how they leverage commercial-off-shelf (COT) components like Xilinx FPGAs. Tom also shares his background in metamaterials and how he once designed an RF invisibility cloak using metamaterials. 

Modular open system approach (MOSA) strategies such as the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) Technical Standard are changing how the Department of Defense acquires technology. In this podcast with Tim Reed, Chief Executive Officer for Lynx Software Technologies, he and I discuss how MOSA benefits the warfighter and what it means to be certified conformant other the FACE Technical Standard. Tim also dives into the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on military systems, the risks of using unsafe programming languages, engineering recruitment challenges, and more.  

Rebranded after being bought by Veritas Capital from CAES, Frontgrade Technologies is now a stand-alone company focused on the space market - military and commercial. In this podcast, Frontgrade President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Elias discusses how the acquisition and rebranding impacts the company and its clientele. We also discuss how supply chain headaches impacted the military space electronics, how space platforms are adopting the modular open systems approach (MOSA) strategy mandated by the Department of Defense, engineering recruitment challenges, and more. 

The procurement challenges facing defense technology companies range from a slow U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition process to supply chain headaches to when and where to leverage commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS)technology and open architectures. In this podcast, Mike McCormack, President & CEO of CP North America and Mark Kempf, VP Of CP technologies & CP Systems at CP North America discuss how those in the defense arena - government and industry - can adapt to these challenges. Also discussed are how these supply chain issues impact military COTS procurement today and reactions to the DoD’s MOSA (modular open systems approach) mandate, recruiting engineering talent, and more. 

Defense integrators are starting to adopt 5G technology for satellite communications (SATCOM) on the move applications through various programs aimed at deploying commercial innovations more quickly to warfighters. In this podcast,  Rajeev Gopal, Vice President, Advanced Systems for Hughes Defense Intelligence Systems Division, goes in depth on military 5G solutions as well as SATCOM trends from this month's Satellite 2022 show, jamming tech, and leveraging security tools that comply with the Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSFC) standard. He also details how artificial intelligence/machine learning is impacting SATCOM networks. 

Complex radar and electronic warfare systems drive innovation from RF and microwave designers while supply chain shortages continue to give them headaches. In this podcast, Bryan Goldstein, VP, Aerospace and Defense, Analog Devices, tackles these trends while also exploring how the defense industry will begin adopting 5G technology and where it will likely deploy first. He also shares his passion for recruiting young engineering talent into the defense electronics industry through Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs and other unique internship and recruiting methods.  

This podcast is sponsored by Pentek, which is now a part of Mercury Systems. Setting the standard for digital signal processing solutions, Pentek, now part of Mercury, supports the defense community with superior technology for radar, software radio, and signal intelligence. Their mission is to provide leading-edge, open architecture, board- and system- level solutions when REAL-TIME results and critical decision making are a must. Learn more at www.pentek.com/go/ew.