Despite a delayed launch, the first year of the maiden voyage of a different approach to military acquisition of information technology products and services has been mostly smooth sailing. The Navy/Marine Corps Intranet is well underway, and key leaders from both industry and the U.S. Defense Department say they are pleased with the progress that has been made so far.

The United States has been using simulations for decades to explore the capabilities of its military forces and train soldiers to perform their missions better. In the war against terrorism, however, this technology can come out of the training centers and into the operations centers to support the country and its allies in fighting this new type of war and enhance homeland security.

Defensive information warfare posturing traditionally has taken the form of security-passwords, firewalls and locked doors. But with less than 100 percent confidence that intruders can be kept out of information systems, a U.S. Air Force and industry team is developing a fundamentally different defensive approach. They are creating a prototype that provides advanced warning of attacks on U.S. Defense Department systems so they are prepared when security is breached.

The war on terrorism and heightened homeland security are prompting the U.S. military to re-evaluate its priorities and accelerate the use of strategic concepts that only months ago were in the experimental stage. Although some of the tactical approaches are not in the polished form they would have been in several years from now, certain aspects can and are making their way into today's efforts.

The decision to assume the helm of AFCEA International was one I made very easily. This is a prestigious organization with an honorable mission and an exciting future, both of which would present anyone with a strong sense of opportunity.

A new digital signal processing technology originally developed for the commercial world now is being incorporated in military systems where it offers significant improvements over current techniques. Known as pipelined frequency transform, the architecture is a licensable intellectual property of cores, or engines, that can be included in programmable logic devices such as semiconductors or system-on-chip designs. Major defense application areas include advanced radar, signals intelligence, secure wireless communications and electronic warfare.

Laser-based position location systems are entering a new era that is based on quantum mechanics. The research could lead to the dawn of technologies such as entangled lasers that surpass a fundamental limit on the accuracy of classical systems and add a built-in cryptographic capability.

In the near future, access to U.S. naval vessels and facilities will be accomplished with the swipe of a card. The service is issuing smart cards for entry control and record-keeping purposes to all of its personnel. The rollout is part of a larger program to provide the devices for all U.S. Defense Department employees.

A software-based access control system offers administrators and planners a secure option for wireless and online communications. Capable of working with legacy technologies, the scalable program forms a layered defense against unauthorized entry or use of network components.

The U.S. State Department is conducting "junkyard dog" network penetration tests and vulnerability assessments at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide. Simultaneously, a network intrusion detection program will provide rapid warning of unauthorized access to the department's far-flung sensitive information systems.