The event was held in a hybrid way (in person and online) and counted with the participation of renowned researchers, representatives of the Defense Industry and military from the Armed Forces
Lieutenant Carolina Redlich – Agência Força Aérea
Between September 27 and 29, 2022, the Aeronautical Technological Institute (ITA) and the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology (DCTA), in partnership with the Air Force Staff (EMAER) and the Brazilian Air Force Readiness Command (COMPREP), promoted the 1st Week of Operational Applications to Readiness and Employment, a nationally prominent event for the Defense area.
The event was attended by the Chief of Staff of the Preparedness Command, Air Major Brigadier Luiz Guilherme Silveira de Medeiros, the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Air Major Valter Borges Malta, the Vice Director of DCTA, Air Major Mauro Bellintani, and the Rector of the ITA, Professor Anderson Ribeiro Correia, as well as other General Officers and civil authorities.
The 24th Symposium on Operational Applications in Defense Areas (SIGE), the 13th Meeting on Electronic Warfare in Defense (EGED), the 3rd Workshop on Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, and the 11th Symposium on Remote Sensing for Defense Applications (SERFA) were integrated to the events. Throughout its editions, these events have gathered more than 11,500 participants, with about 750 published papers.
According to DCTA’s Vice-Director, this is a remarkable and unprecedented edition, as it brings together activities that were previously held in isolation. “For DCTA, hosting this unified meeting is an honor, because, by observing its objectives, we can see that they are totally aligned strategically with our institutional mission to develop technical and scientific solutions that can contribute to the maintenance of airspace sovereignty and national integration,” he commented.
The Chief of Staff of the Preparatory Command, Air Major Brigadier Luiz Guilherme Silveira de Medeiros, endorsed the relevance of the event when he pointed out that “the analysis of the current scenarios is complex and the prospection of future perspectives is no less challenging. It is possible to foresee profound transformations due to the rapid advances obtained from research in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, and the Internet of Things, which are materialized in products that are accessible to the population in general, being converted into means of combat. In this context, interoperability among the Forces and the effective integration between academia, government, and industry are of fundamental importance. It was precisely with this in mind that we proposed the 1st Operational Applications Week for Preparation and Employment,” explained Major Brigadier Medeiros.
The event, which was carried out in a hybrid way (presential and online), counted with the participation of renowned researchers, representatives of the Defense Industry and military from the Armed Forces, promoting the realization of several debates, mini-courses, round tables and lectures on themes such as “Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Defense and Security”, given by the Rector of the Federal University of Itajubá (UNIFEI), Professor Edson da Costa Bortoni, and “Development of Space Applications in the Defense Environment: Tropospheric and Space Weather Forecasting”, presented by the Director of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), Doctor Clezio Marcos De Nardin, providing an opportunity for the guests to deliberate on current best practices, always in line with the strategic guidelines of the Aeronautics Staff and the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology.
Air Major Valter Borges Malta, who delivered the keynote speech entitled “The role of the Armed Forces in Brazil’s technological development”, pointed out that this event is an excellent opportunity to bring together the members of the triple helix, corroborating the academy’s elementary function, which is to multiply and consolidate knowledge.
The operational sector, represented by the Navy and Army commands, was present through members from all regions of Brazil, thus feeding back the development cycle in operational applications, providing a direct integration with the academic area and converging in the development of more coherent and adequate products to the final application.
“We reach the end of another edition with the certainty that we have achieved our goals by creating a propitious and inspiring environment for the exchange of experiences between the academic, industrial and operational sectors of the Armed Forces, working on teaching, research and development topics that are of undeniable importance for the future of our country,” concluded the ITA Rector.
Photos: Roberto/ ITA *** Translated by the DEFCONPress FYI Team ***