Col. John Reim, USA, program executive officer for SOF Warrior Systems at US Special Operations Command, discusses his priorities, preparing special operators for great-power competition, countering communications challenges in the field, problems he’d like industry to help solve, rapid acquisition lessons learned, how to foster agility and more in 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.

Lt. Gen. Bill Phillips, USA Ret., vice president for Army/Special Operations Forces and Huntsville Customer Engagement at Boeing. discusses the company’s MH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter, the roadmap for the AH-6 light attack/armed reconnaissance helicopter platform (also known as Little Bird), training solutions, the future of the SOF market and more during an 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.

Lisa Sanders, director of science and technology for US Special Operations Command, discusses what she’s seeking from the defense industry, great-power competition’s impact on the command’s S&T goals, sustainability, artificial intelligence and more during a May 23, 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.

David Ray, president of FLIR’s government and defense business unit, discusses the company’s Ranger family of radars and Recon V ultra-light, next-generation, portable, thermal handheld sensor , his research and development priorities, strategic investment and much more in a wide-ranging, 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.

Gen. Raymond “Tony” Thomas, USA, commander of US Special Operations Command, discusses defense industry’s role in helping USSOCOM achieve its mission, why integrated-product teams and technological innovation are crucial for combat development, how the command’s acquisition benefits the joint force, the urgency of empowering individual special operators and more during a May 22, 2018, keynote address 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 Systems.

Col. Jim Smith, USA Ret., acquisition executive at US Special Operations Command, discusses the command’s acquisition priorities, how that list is changing in response to an evolving threat environment, the biggest problems the command needs industry’s help to solve, USSOCOM’s role in military-information support operations, collaborating with other services’ acquisition executives and much more in a wide-ranging, 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 Systems.

Maj. Gen. Jim Boozer, USA Ret., chief of staff at the National Defense Industrial Association, previews the organization’s 2018 Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (also known as SOFIC), being held May 21-24 in Tampa, Fla., and discusses this year’s theme and priorities, collaborating with the US Defense Department, government leaders, industry and academia, the significance of DoD-industry dialogue and more in a May 21, 2018, interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the event. Our coverage is sponsored by FLIR Systems.

Tom Menker, business development & government relations representative at Air Tractor, discusses the company’s AT-802U multi-mission aircraft, why its ISR capabilities make it a good fit for the US Air Force despite its elimination from the service’s light-attack experiment aircraft competition, the aircraft’s specifications and more during a May 18, 2018, interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor and Host 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 Systems.