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October 29, 2021 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

Registration is Now Open | 8th Annual Defense R&D Summit

Wednesday, January 19, 2022 - 8:00 AM ET - Virtual

Registration is Now Open for the
8th Annual Defense Research and Development Summit!

Join the Potomac Officers Club for the 8th Annual Defense Research and Development Summit on Wednesday, January 19th, where elite government and industry leaders will come together to discuss the Department of Defense's current innovation priorities, technology advancements and general strategy to stay ahead of the curve in the evolving defense sector.

Register Now!Register Now!

Take 10% Off Your Registration
With Promo Code:
EARLYBIRD11922

Stay tuned for more event details and speaker announcements by clicking here!

The Speaker Lineup

DR. STEFANIE TOMPKINS
Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

HEIDI SHYU
Under Secretary, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD R&E), Acquisition and Sustainment of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)

Thank you to our event sponsors:

POC Membership and Event Attendance Requirements:

  • Individual requesting POC membership or event registration must hold or have recently held a director level or above position with a company*, federal government agency or non-profit organization.
  • (*Company must sell directly to the Federal Government, have a minimum annual revenue of $5 million and may not be a service provider)

info@potomacofficersclub.com

www.potomacofficersclub.com
(703) 226-7007

On the same subject

  • Canada ponders 'top secret' data cloud as allies push ahead with intelligence-sharing plans | CBC News

    October 6, 2024 | Local, Aerospace

    Canada ponders 'top secret' data cloud as allies push ahead with intelligence-sharing plans | CBC News

    The U.S., Australia and the United Kingdom have all moved to establish top secret cloud infrastructure to handle defence and national security data. Canada is still in the early stages of consulting on the issue — a delay experts say will have a profound impact on new military hardware and the country's intelligence-sharing ability.

  • Canadian military to take part in world's largest maritime exercise as navies struggle to deal with COVID-19

    May 12, 2020 | Local, Naval

    Canadian military to take part in world's largest maritime exercise as navies struggle to deal with COVID-19

    David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen The Canadian military plans to take part in the world's largest maritime exercise this summer even as the U.S. Navy, which is hosting the event, struggles to deal with coronavirus outbreaks that have sent two of its ships back to port. There have also been COVID-19 outbreaks on French, Belgium and Taiwanese navy ships. There are COVID-19 cases among the crews of 26 U.S. Navy ships. But that won't stop the U.S. from holding its Rim of the Pacific or RIMPAC exercise in August. The Canadian Forces is planning to attend although military officials haven't outlined yet which Canadian ships and aircraft will take part. “The Canadian Armed Forces remains committed to participating in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise 2020 in a significant way in order to maximize the unique training opportunities this biennial exercise provides as well as strengthen relationships with allies and partners in the Pacific,” Department of National Defence spokesperson Jessica Lamirande said in an email. She said Canadian military officials are in discussions with their U.S. counterparts and are “currently evaluating options to adapt our participation accordingly.” “Participation in RIMPAC will balance the requirement to complete critical tasks and high readiness training in support of planned operations, with the requirement to protect the health and safety of our personnel,” added Lamirande. RIMPAC is usually held in and around Hawaii. In 2018 the Canadian Forces sent more than 1,000 personnel, five ships and a patrol aircraft. They operated alongside approximately 25,000 military personnel from 24 other nations as well as more than 200 aircraft and 50 ships and submarines. The U.S. military says changes will be made to RIMPAC and that on-shore interactions will be limited. Ships can go into the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii for supplies, but the number of staff ashore for support functions will be limited. The U.S. Navy has the highest rate of COVID-19 in the U.S. military. There are 2,125 cases in the navy, with around 800 linked to the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt. The Canadian military does not release statistics on how many of its members have been infected with the virus. It cites security reasons for keeping such details secret. The Royal Canadian Navy has implemented a number of measures to deal with COVID-19, including trying to practise physical distancing on ships as much as possible and restricting shore leave. The pandemic has also prompted changes in other Canadian Forces operations. The military has scaled back the number of soldiers it is sending to Ukraine to conduct training there. It had planned to send a new group of soldiers, numbering 200, to relieve the Canadian troops now in Ukraine. That number will now be cut back to 60 personnel. The pandemic caused the cancellation of Exercise Maple Resolve, the army's main training event for the year, as well as a naval exercise off the coast of Africa. HMCS Glace Bay and HMCS Shawinigan, which were to take part in that naval training, were ordered to return to Halifax. HMCS Nanaimo and HMCS Whitehorse also cut short their participation in U.S.-led counter-drug operations. In addition, the Canadian Forces withdrew many of its troops assigned to the Iraq mission, ordering them home because COVID-19 has hindered training of Iraqi military personnel. The Canadian military has also pulled back its commitment of a transport aircraft for the United Nations because of COVID-19. The Department of National Defence, however, says it will not change the Canadian commitment to NATO's enhanced Forward Presence in Latvia. A new group of Canadian military personnel arrived in Latvia in January and will stay there until July. There are around 540 Canadian soldiers working in Latvia. In addition, the Canadian military hopes to take incremental steps to restart training of recruits as early as June. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadian-military-to-take-part-in-worlds-largest-maritime-exercise-as-navies-struggle-to-deal-with-covid-19/

  • Canada caught off guard by new security pact between U.S., Australia and Britain

    September 20, 2021 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Canada caught off guard by new security pact between U.S., Australia and Britain

    ROBERT FIFEOTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF STEVEN CHASESENIOR PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER OTTAWA PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 The Canadian government was surprised this week by the announcement of a new security pact between the United States, Britain and Australia, one that excluded Canada and is aimed at confronting China's growing military and political influence in the Indo-Pacific region, according to senior government officials. Three officials, representing Canada's foreign affairs, intelligence and defence departments, told The Globe and Mail that Ottawa was not consulted about the pact, and had no idea the trilateral security announcement was coming until it was made on Wednesday by U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The defence ministers from the U.K. and Australia reached out to Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan to inform him of the decision shortly before the late-afternoon announcement. Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau received a call from his Australian counterpart. Daniel Minden, a spokesperson for Mr. Sajjan, said Ottawa had been kept in the loop on talks between the countries. One of the Canadian officials referred to the pact as the new “Three Eyes” and said it's clear that Canada's closest allies consider Ottawa to be a “weak sister” when it comes to standing up to China. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the officials because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Three Eyes is a reference to what is becoming a smaller club within the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance, which includes the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The Five Eyes pact dates back about 75 years. Members share signals intelligence gleaned from intercepted communications, as well as military intelligence and intelligence gathered directly from human sources. The new trilateral alliance, dubbed AUKUS, after the initials of the three countries, will allow for greater sharing of information in areas such as artificial intelligence and cyber and underwater defence capabilities. The U.S. and U.K. have also agreed to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines, which would allow it to conduct longer undersea patrols. Australia will become only the second country, after Britain in 1958, to be given access to U.S. nuclear propulsion technology. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday played down Canada's exclusion from the Indo-Pacific security deal, saying it is merely a way for the U.S. to sell nuclear submarines to Australia. Speaking to reporters in Montreal, Mr. Trudeau said Canada will still have access to defence and intelligence sharing as a member of the Five Eyes alliance. “We continue to be strong members of the Five Eyes,” he said. “This is a deal for nuclear submarines, which Canada is not currently or any time soon in the market for. Australia is.” Retired Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, who once commanded the Royal Canadian Navy, said Canada should have been part of this defence pact, which he described as a “somewhat unprecedented” trilateral arrangement. He said he was surprised to hear Mr. Trudeau play down the pact as merely a submarine purchase deal. “I think it's misleading and concerning ... I would like to believe he was poorly briefed by his staff,” Mr. Norman said. The retired naval flag officer said that, if Mr. Trudeau was fully briefed, “he doesn't understand what is going on internationally and he doesn't understand what the significance of an arrangement like this is as it relates to international security.” He said the agreement goes far beyond access to U.S. submarine technology. “This is about accessing both current and emerging technologies, from cyber and artificial intelligence, to acoustics and underwater warfare – a whole range of very important strategic capabilities.” Mr. Norman said Canada has many national interests in the Indo-Pacific – including trade, promoting the rule of law and democracy, and countering China's aggressive behaviour and posturing – but he suspects close allies do not take Canadian defence commitments seriously. “I don't think our allies think we are serious when it comes to defence. I think they have concerns not just about our defence expenditures, but also the extent to which our [international] commitments are both lasting and meaningful,” he said. Stephanie Carvin, a former national security analyst and an associate professor of international relations at Carleton University, said the U.S.-U.K.-Australia defence pact is the latest evolution of military and intelligence co-operation between those three countries. “Three Eyes is very real,” Prof. Carvin said. “Australia is strategic in making its presence known in Washington, arguably much more than Canada despite it being geographically closer.” She said Canada not being a part of the new agreement is consistent with the country's low engagement in the Indo-Pacific. “We haven't been part of a military alliance in the Pacific since the Korean War. And the government has never addressed the question of if this is still the correct security posture.” The leaders of the Conservative and New Democratic parties criticized Mr. Trudeau for Canada's exclusion from the pact. AUKUS, they said, could put added pressure on China to respect international norms and rein in its expansionism. “This is another example that Mr. Trudeau is not taken seriously by our friends and allies around the world,” Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole told reporters at a campaign stop on Thursday. “Canada is becoming more irrelevant under Mr. Trudeau.” Mr. O'Toole said he would seek to join the new Indo-Pacific security arrangement if the Conservatives are elected on Monday. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, speaking to reporters on Thursday, questioned whether Mr. Trudeau had given serious thought to the importance of the new trilateral pact while preoccupied with campaigning. By joining this arrangement, Canada could have ratcheted up pressure on China to free Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, Mr. Singh said. “The pact seems like a potential avenue to add more pressure [on China]. Canada was absent. Another reason why this election should not have been called,” Mr. Singh told reporters. The U.S., U.K., Australia and Indo-Pacific countries have been growing alarmed about how Beijing is rapidly modernizing its armed forces and increasing its military presence in the disputed waters of the South China Sea and the East China Sea. China reacted harshly to the new partnership. The three countries are “severely damaging regional peace and stability,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki defended the U.S. decision, saying “we do not seek conflict with China.” Instead, she said, this is “about security in the Indo-Pacific.” The submarine deal also represented a blow for France, because Australia intends to tear up a $40-billion agreement to buy French conventional submarines. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called the loss of the deal a “stab in the back.” Speaking at a news conference after meetings between the U.S. and Australian foreign and defence ministers in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said France remains a “vital partner” in the Indo-Pacific region. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-canadian-government-surprised-by-new-indo-pacific-security-pact/

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