Jeffrey Lessner, senior director for national programs at Hughes Network Systems, discusses the company code-based waveform that lets special operators communicate “below the noise floor” to prevent jamming and ensure connectivity, the satellite market’s future, protecting space infrastructure, what the Hughes legacy means to him and more during a May 2018 interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted at the National Defense Industrial Association’s 2018 Special Operations Forces Industry Conference, held May 21-24, in Tampa, Fla. Our coverage was sponsored by FLIR.

Lt. Col. Jerry Coburn, USA Ret., business development director at the Sierra Nevada Corporation, discusses his company’s collaboration with RADA and Ascent Vision on a vehicle-based, counter-small-UAS system, the SOFWERX technology incubator’s role in the system’s development, tackling the swarming-drone challenge and more during a May 2018 interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the National Defense Industrial Association’s 2018 Special Operations Forces Industry Conference, held May 21-24, in Tampa, Fla. Our coverage was sponsored by FLIR.

Jon Piatt, vice president for strategy and business development at L3 Insight Technology’s Warrior Sensor Systems business, discusses the company’s partnership with Air Tractor on the AT-802L Longsword aircraft, its US Army night-vision goggle contract and expansion plans within that market, driving information and systems integration within the L3 Technologies ecosystem, L3 ForceX software updates and the Warlock anti-drone system during a May 2018 interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the National Defense Industrial Association’s 2018 Special Operations Forces Industry Conference, held May 21-24, in Tampa, Fla. Our coverage was sponsored by FLIR. L3 is one of our sponsors.

Russ Lascink, head of business development for PARASIM at Systems Technology, discusses the company’s virtual-reality parachute trainer, using PC gaming software designed by Bohemia Interactive to let special operators rehearse top-secret simulation scenes without civilian involvement, making simulations believable and more during a May 24, 2018, interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the National Defense Industrial Association’s 2018 Special Operations Forces Industry Conference, held May 21-24, in Tampa, Fla. Our coverage was sponsored by FLIR.

Gen. Hawk Carlisle, USAF Ret., president and CEO of the National Defense Industrial Association, discusses the significance of his organization’s 2018 Special Operations Forces Industry Conference, held May 21-24, in Tampa, Fla., the outlook for US defense spending, planning for sustainability, the importance of the US defense-industrial base and what to expect from reform, the US Defense Department’s relationship with industry, his priorities for NDIA and much more in a wide-ranging, May 23, 2018, interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the event. Our coverage was sponsored by FLIR.

Andrew Sheldon, co-founder, chief technology officer and head of innovation at Evidence Talks — a UK-based digital-forensics firm and a US Special Operations Forces contractor — discusses the company’s SPEKTOR family of forensic triage tools (including the SPEKTOR Forensic Intelligence system and the tablet-based SPEKTOR Ultra) that allow users to quickly collect and analyze data from electronic and digital devices, data-recovery tips and more during a May 22, 2018, interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the National Defense Industrial Association’s 2018 Special Operations Forces Industry Conference, held May 21-24, in Tampa, Fla. Our coverage is sponsored by FLIR.

Ellen Lord, under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, says the US military services should only aim to “fail fast” during the prototyping phase of acquisition, and discusses how to prevent poor program-execution decisions, next steps for fast-tracking foreign military sales authorities, what the reorganized US Defense Department acquisitions, technology and logistics apparatus will look like and much more during a May 23, 2018, press conference at the National Defense Industrial Association’s 2018 Special Operations Forces Industry Conference, held May 21-24, 2018, in Tampa, Fla. Our coverage was sponsored by FLIR.

Col. Melissa Johnson, USAF, program executive officer for fixed wing aviation at US Special Operations Command, discusses key lines of effort within her portfolio, transitioning to the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules airframe for strike- and special-mission purposes, developing systems with denied environments and survivability in mind, sustainability and more during a May 24, 2018, interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian during the National Defense Industrial Association’s 2018 Special Operations Forces Industry Conference, held May 21-24, in Tampa, Fla. Our coverage was sponsored by FLIR.

Stephen Scott, head of future battlefield capability at MBDA, Europe’s leading missile manufacturer, discusses the company’s Enforcer shoulder-launched guided weapon system, its specifications, capabilities and cost, the battlefield of the future and more during a May 22, 2018, interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the National Defense Industrial Association’s 2018 Special Operations Forces Industry Conference, held May 21-24, in Tampa, Fla. Our coverage was sponsored by FLIR.