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Two big challenges for the U.S. Navy are keeping its weapons safe from adversarial probing and corrosion. So, a newly-developed product that does both at the same time is worth at the minimum a panel discussion at a highly-respected conference of experts.
That’s why the revered Association of Old Crows invited Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division’s (NSWC PHD) materials subject matter expert Armen Kvryan to a recent summit to present on the new topside covers that the command co-developed with private industry to protect Navy ship combat and weapon systems from external scrutiny as well as corrosion.
The Alexandria, Va.-based association specializes in electromagnetic warfare, and attracts experts from across the military branches, private industry and academia to its international symposiums, professional development courses, publications, nearly 70 regional chapters and conferences. Kvryan spoke at its EMS (Electromagnetic Spectrum) Summit, held May 19 and 20, and the group’s first virtual conference.
Several 30-minute virtual sessions and subsequent Q&A portions focused on electromagnetic warfare capability gaps and enabling technologies, other electromagnetic warfare related topics and collaborative electromagnetic warfare projects, which is the portion Kvryan spoke within.
“This summit is one of the most prestigious conferences focused on electronic warfare,” Kvryan said. “So with that in mind, and that our covers protect from scrutiny, they were a perfect fit for the summit. We were excited about that!”
During his session, Kvryan discussed the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) the command has had since 2017 with Transhield, Inc. of Elkhart, Indiana, a maker of anti-corrosive fabrics for a wide variety of uses, and the resulting invention.
Kvryan explained how he and the Office of Technology materials team, as part of the collaboration, researched whether shielding weapon systems technology, such as radar components of combat communications and ordnance delivery systems, from scanning and transmission adequately protects them while still preventing corrosion, Kvryan said.
PHD and Transhield’s material is similar to other covers Transhield makes, but includes additional shielding, and protects against corrosion along with environmental degradation, Kvryan added. The covers can be sized and designed to fit any equipment.
That makes them adaptable not only to the Fleet’s equipment, but also assets across all military branches, which have all faced the same challenges to finding protection against RF scanning and corrosion, Kvryan explained.
“These covers were designed and invented at Port Hueneme with the help of Transhield and are meant to support the entire Navy Fleet to protect the topside combat system elements,” he said. “It should be mentioned that this also supports the entire Department of Defense (DOD) community. So, in essence, NSWC PHD was able to create something that has a significant impact on the Fleet and DOD entities.”
Kvryan also shared with summit attendees and participants that PHD is about to sign its second CRADA with Transhield to test out how user-friendly and maneuverable the covers are on Navy ships—how easily and how well they fit onto equipment, if the zippers are in the right spots, if their corners fit correctly, etc. and how easy it is for Sailors to handle and adjust them as needed.
The new covers made impressions on some of the summit’s 1,850 attendees, who collectively hailed from 37 countries, according to the association. Kvryan has received five separate inquiries for more information about them, he said.
“Being a part of these conferences is beneficial because it highlights and showcases what PHD can do and what a profound effect it has on the DOD community,” he added.
The command is honored by the association’s invitation to speak for several reasons, said PHD Deputy Technical Director Vance Brahosky.
“It provides us an opportunity to showcase our scientists and engineers on the professional stage,” he said. “This also gives Armen a chance to speak about the work our command does in support of the Surface Navy. Additionally, the presentation will provide more information about the Navy and its allies’ use of technology, and in doing so, allows the professionals who are part of the association to get more insight into the work done by our command. We don’t do enough of that, so when we have the opportunity to speak, we want to do that.”
Kvryan was in good company at the event. Seventeen others, including generals, captains, doctors, senior leaders and policymakers across all U.S. military branches and even international military leaders, program managers, acquisition officials, industry SMEs and engineers, also spoke.
“Association of Old Crows delivers forums that provide in-depth discussions on solving the latest challenges and threats facing the warfighter,” said Christine Armstrong, senior conference manager. “It was a pleasure to work with Dr. Kvryan on the AOC’s EMS Summit. His presentation was informative and produced engaging dialogue from the audience during his question and answer portion.”
The name “crow” originated from World War II with the first large-scale use of electronic warfare during the Battle of Britain and the U.S. and allied bombing raids over Europe, according to Brock Sheets, director of marketing, communications and education for the organization.
“The Allied Radar Countermeasure operators used the code name ‘ravens,’ and employed receivers and transmitters to monitor and jam threat frequencies,” he said. “Military jargon later changed ‘ravens’ to ‘crows.’ Since that time, the defense of (and maneuver within) the electromagnetic spectrum has been undertaken by ‘crows’ across the military, government, industrial base and academia.”
| Date Taken: | 06.16.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 06.16.2020 17:07 |
| Story ID: | 372260 |
| Location: | PORT HUENEME, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 152 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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