Large and small business vendors who attended the 2018 Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC) earlier this month in Tampa, Fla., got a firsthand look at what these highly trained and specialized forces need. U.S. Special Operations Command’s (SOCOM) J-4 (logistics planning and execution) office offered several ideas, including:
* A web-based way for special operators to identify their positions, using a tool that relies upon both machine learning and logistics data.
* Other integration systems that would identify personnel, false alarms, potential adversaries.
* An advanced helmet, lighter in weight and more capable of deflecting the higher-powered rounds now in use by enemies. It also should be capable of providing protection from extremely hot or cold weather.
* Reduced electronic footprints and antenna profiles, with better security and hybrid cloud-computing capability. Devices should be able to provide internet access in hard-to-reach areas, and in the presence of hostile forces.
* Rotary pilots want ideas for the next-generation cockpit. There needs to be a “convergence” of the multiple radio-frequency systems into something more universal and simple to operate. These pilots also are looking for systems that offer better situational awareness, rotor-speed efficiency, survivability, and power-source efficiency.
* Maritime operators also are seeking systems that maximize power efficiency and identification security. Divers, in particular, are looking for virtual-reality systems that would allow them to operate in murky rivers and waters and similarly difficult environments.
The Arlington, Va.-based National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) sponsored the conference.