The U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL), U.S. Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC), and Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) participated and exhibited at the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Joint Armaments Symposium held in Seattle, Wash., at the Washington State Convention Center May 14-17.
In years past, the symposium rotated between a NDIA Small Arms Conference and a separate Guns and Missiles Conference. NDIA decided to make it a Joint Small Arms and Guns and Missile symposium to decrease spending while bolstering the audience quality and attendance in one conference, instead of splitting the audiences into two.
The purpose of the Joint Armaments Conference is to bring together government and industry communities to participate in presentations and exhibits representing activities supporting the evolving requirements, technologies, systems and ongoing production. Poster sessions and tutorial sessions continue to grow each year addressing key topics of interest in requirements, acquisition, ITAR and program management.
ARL subject matter experts, Tim Farrand and Steve Taulbee, Weapons and Materials Research Directorate (WMRD), showcased efforts in precision munitions, computational fluid dynamics and propulsion research.
"The joint armaments exhibit provided us an outstanding opportunity to collaborate and network among the attendees," said Taulbee. "The joint exhibit allowed us to maximize exposure by providing the unified linkage between ARDEC, AMRDEC, and ARL in armaments-related research and development."
ARDEC personnel highlighted the precision lightweight universal mortar system, dismounted standoff explosive hazard neutralizer-remote initiator, CROWS interactive multimedia instructions, M24A1 machine gun mount for CH47 aircraft, 155mm soft catch gun system, and the bore elevation and azimuth measurement system.
"It was a great opportunity for everyone to gain a greater awareness of ARDEC's strategic communications goals and activities and also of other ARDEC, ARL and AMRDEC technologies," said Bridget Sullivan, ARDEC.
AMRDEC personnel showcased precision navigation and composite technologies for missile applications, and propulsion and structures technology.
"Through the Joint Armaments Exhibit, we were able to establish additional contacts with leaders in the precision guided mortars community," said Brian Grantham, AMRDEC. "Through discussions that began at the exhibit, multiple opportunities for research collaboration both with industry and with other DoD laboratories were identified, and we are already following up on several of these. The Joint Armaments Exhibit provided an excellent networking opportunity and will likely provide dividends well into the future."
ARL personnel attending the conference included Steven Taulbee, James Newill, Tyler Ehlers, Joseph South, Andrew Bujanda, Timothy Farrand and Michael Zoltoski -- all from the Weapons and Materials Research Directorate.
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