Government, Agencies, Industry Come Together at TechNet International 2013

AFCEA Europe’s TechNet International 2013, held at the Lisbon Congress Center, Portugal, on October 23 and 24, was organized under the patronage of the minister of national defense, Portugal, in cooperation with the NATO Communications and Information (NCI) Agency and with the support of the AFCEA Portugal Chapter. This event, which was run under the theme “Go Connected + Go Smart = Zero Distance,” brought together more than 300 experts from NATO, government, academia and industry.

The welcome keynote address was delivered by the secretary of state and assistant to the minister of national defense Portugal (SEADN), Dr. Berta Cabral. After words of welcome from Rear Adm. Carlos Rodolfo, PON (Ret.), president, AFCEA Portugal Chapter, and vice president, AFCEA Euro-Atlantic Region, and Maj. Gen. Klaus-Peter Treche, GEAF (Ret.), general manager of AFCEA Europe, the SEADN and keynote speakers, Vice Adm. Pereira da Cunha, PON, chief of the Joint Staff Portugal (CHOD PO), and Chuck Shawcross, director of service strategy for the NCI Agency, gave their keynote addresses. There was also a video presentation from Maj. Gen. Koen Gijsbers, RNLA (Ret.), general manager of the NCI Agency.

Highlights of the scene-setting presentations on day one of the event were those of Lt. Gen. Erich Pfeffer, GEA, vice chief of staff of the German Joint Support Service, on “Rapid Situational Assessment of Land-based Operations,” and of CALM Rear Adm. Silva Ribeiro, PON, director of the Portuguese Hydrographic Institute, on “Rapid Environmental Assessment of the Maritime Battlespace.” The speeches and discussions that followed reflected two special theme tracks: “Enterprise Mobility” and “Secure Networks.”

Day two was opened by a keynote address on maritime policies and the importance of integration of data from the ocean, which was delivered by Fonseca Ribeiro, general director for sea policy in the Ministry of Agriculture and the Sea. The session “Maritime Situational Awareness” focused on the interventions of Markku Mylly, executive director of the European Maritime Safety Agency, and of Capt. Novo Palma, PON, who commanded the European Union Naval Force in operation ATALANTA fighting maritime piracy in the Indian Ocean. In the fourth and last session, on “Real-time Warfighting,” representatives of the NATO Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Center joined other eminent speakers in presenting their conclusions from the past decade of conflicts.

This event included an industry exhibition of leading-edge technology C⁴ISR-related applications in the area of defense and security. The Portuguese Ministry of Defense also had the opportunity to present the most recent systems developed by the Portuguese armed forces in partnership with research centers.