Military electronics markets have remained strong during the last few years, even at a time when business in commercial optical and wireless communications has slowed to a crawl. To provide designers of military electronics systems an opportunity to catch up on the latest developments in hardware, software, and test equipment, the Military Electronics Show was started three years ago to provide a technical conference for continuing education and a meeting place for buyers and sellers of the hardware and software used in the design of military electronics systems.
Scheduled for September 16-17, 2003 in the Baltimore Convention Center (Baltimore, MD), the Third Annual MES offers a diversified technical program and a strong lineup of military suppliers in the exhibition hall. Exhibitors include leading materials, components, software, and test-equipment suppliers (see Exhibitors at a glance), and displays of their products and services are certain to attract specifiers from the military design community.
The technical program includes a keynote address by Jim Tung, chief market development officer for The MathWorks, suppliers of mathematical modeling software. His presentation, entitled "Coming to Grips with Complexity in System Development—Collaborative Approaches Using Model-Based Design," addresses the challenges faced by defense-system developers, and how they must make the transition from document-based processes to a model-based approach that integrates algorithm design, system modeling, automatic code generation, and integrated acquisition and analysis.
Conference technical tracks cover such areas as software, systems and subsystems, test and measurement, high-power design, optical communications, and signal processing. In the software track, for example, Sonnet Software founder James Rautio will explain how electromagnetic (EM) analysis tools can be applied to the modeling of difficult components, in this case a spiral inductor.
In the systems and subsystems track, Michael J. Stora, president and CEO, Modular Integration Technologies, Inc., will examine the IEEE-P1552 Structured Architecture for Test Systems (SATS) Standards effort, a multi-dimensional ATE "Open System Platform" packaging specification, that can also be applied to weapon system integration. In addition, Steve Blackman, director of market development for Aerospace and Defense at Wind River Systems, will describe how NASA's JPL successfully met an accelerated development schedule on a strict budget for the Mars Pathfinder project, while in a separate presentation, he will review DO-178B guidelines for software in airborne systems and equipment. Also in that systems session, Nino De Falcis of the Temex Time Office, iPrecision Timing Solutions will detail a multireference timing clock called the SynClock that is suitable for synchronizing multiple Stratum 1 references.
In the high-power design track, several presenters will bring attendees up to date on the latest in power semiconductor technologies. For example, Dr. Anthony A. Immorlica, Jr., manager of business development for Advanced Systems and Technology at BAE Systems, will describe his company's research into gallium-nitride (GaN) transistors and discuss the fundamental material properties and drivers that give GaN a decided advantage over silicon and other III-V compound semiconductors. On that same topic, Dr. A.R. Jha, technical director of Jha Technical Consulting Services, will review the unique performance capabilities of high-power microwave GaN High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) devices capable of operating under severe thermal and mechanical environments. In addition, Ramesh K. Gupta, vice president of Advanced Business and Technology for AMCOM Communications, Inc., will discuss high-voltage GaAs power FETS for military applications.
In addition to the half-hour technical sessions, the Third Annual MES will feature several workshops, including a full-day workshop on the first day of the show, "Introduction to Microwave Radar and Electronic Warfare Systems," presented by long-time Besser Associates instructor Al Scott. On the following day, Scott also offers a half-day workshop called "Introduction to Military Electro-Optical Systems," which examines the fundamental engineering characteristics of modern electro-optical systems. More information on the Third Annual Military Electronics Show can be found on the website at www.mes2003.com.