Targeting & Delivering Effect for Future Force 2020

The Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), Securing Britain in an Age of Uncertainty, outlines the needs of the UK’s future force structure. This structure, Future Force 2020, will be a highly capable force ready to react, at various levels of intensity, to the complex threat scenarios that may develop in future.  It will be a flexible and expeditionary force based on fewer platforms that must be able to deliver effectors with a high degree of accuracy and in a timely manner by air, land or sea.

The threats Future Force 2020 is likely to meet will be challenging. For instance, the threat can use camouflage, concealment and deception measures, presenting targets that could be fleeting in nature. In addition, those threats may evolve more rapidly than our existing development cycles.  Moreover, it is anticipated that allied operations will be constrained by rules of engagement where collateral damage is unacceptable politically or legally.

For this transition to become a reality, the challenges of affordability must be met to provide these capability needs. Can we develop or adapt systems, technologies and operations to achieve this?

In order to address these issues, a classified conference is being organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Weapon Systems and Technology Specialist Group.  This conference will focus on future operational needs, force structure or system concepts, targeting and weapon effects aligned to Future Force 2020.

From Pioneers to Presidents: Celebrating a Century of Women in Flight

Following the success of last year’s RAeS Women in Aerospace & Aviation Conference, the 2011 Networking Event will celebrate a century of women’s acheivements in flight.

The Wonderful Women Ferry Pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary

The Royal Aeronautical Society is offering a unique opportunity to meet the few surviving women pilots who ferried every type of military aircraft during World War II, including fighters, huge four-engine bombers as the sole pilot and even the first British jet-engine aeroplane. By the end of the war, ATA pilots had each flown dozens of different aircraft, sometimes several in one day, often never having seen the aeroplane before, far less flown it.

During the seminar, you will hear why the ATA was such a unique organisation, how the women ferry pilots were trained and what they achieved, what an RAF bomber pilot thought of the young women who delivered aircraft to his base, and finally hear from the so-called ‘Spitfire Women’ themselves about their memories of these extraordinary times and their experiences.

At the end of this special seminar, the Royal Aeronautical Society will be making a presentation to the ATA women pilots present to honour their extraordinary achievements.

For more than half a century now, the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS) has provided for the world’s aerospace engineers, scientists, technologists and managers, the preeminent forum to present and discuss the latest developments in aeronautics. This remarkable apolitical organization founded by Theodore von Karman and his international colleagues, continues to build on its impressive heritage, to be even more relevant to the global aerospace and aviation industries. This world congress staged biennially by ICAS is the key opportunity for those committed to serving those industries to meet, present, discuss and create opportunities that can only be done in such an international environment.

The world launcher market is evolving fast with new competitors entering each year.  In 2011 the European Space Agency (ESA) will begin operations with two new vehicles – Soyuz and Vega.  Meanwhile Ariane 5 remains the number one choice for launching commercial geostationary satellites.

In 2012 Europe’s Space Ministers will decide whether to upgrade Ariane 5 – the so-called Ariane 5 Mid-life Extension (ME) – and/or to begin the definition and development of Ariane 6.

ESA’s Future Launcher Preparatory Programme (FLPP) has been assessing the systems, technologies and requirements for Europe’s future launchers and Guy Pilchen will provide an authoritative view of the options being considered for the future, including:

• current status of the down-selection of launch system concept

• the technology developments required for reduced-mass structures and stages, thus underpinning cost optimized launch systems

• development status of integrated demonstrators, including the mid-scale demonstrator of a Staged Combustion High Thrust Engin.

The French Air & Space Academy will be visiting the UK and will host an informative evening of aerospace lectures. The evening will commence with a presentation of the Air & Space Academy hosted by Gerard Brachet and will be followed by three short presentations by aerospace experts.

Taking place on the 13th & 14th April 2011 at the Society’s Headquarters, Aerospace 2011: Funding the Future will focus on Aerospace & Aviation in an Age of Austerity and address how both the civil and defence communities can look to overcome economic uncertainties and grow business in the coming years.

If you’ve ever wanted to know the behind the scenes story of Flight Testing at the Boeing this lecture will take you there.  It will cover some of the most dynamic, risky and interesting testing done to date on the 787 and 747-8 programs.  The lecture will use actual flight test footage of the conditions flown with an explanation of the piloting techniques involved and engineering data gathered.  Each of the videos will have a personal storyline which might surprise the listeners.  It will also be an audience interactive talk with questions to those in attendance before and after each subject.  The topics will range from first flight to maximum brake energy testing on the newest Boeing model airplanes.  The lecture will be divided into three parts: 747-8, 787 and a small section on common type rating between the 787 and 777.  Capt Santoni will be able to relate his personal experiences on the types of testing shown as he has either participated in the actual test or has done similar flights on other models.  There will be time to engage with the speaker after the lecture on any flight test topic of interest.

As the Single European Sky programme develops Interoperability Regulations on Surveillance, and the UK CAA, in conjunction with DfT, MOD and NATS, progresses the Future Airspace Strategy, the means of delivering future surveillance requirements and the part that ADS-B may play is a key issue. This RAeS Avionics & Systems Group Lecture will introduce the key issues, explore the technical issues and discuss the future strategy and regulatory aspects from both a national and European perspective.

Mr Paul Verhoef
European GNSS Programmes Manager at the European Commission

Galileo is Europe’s fully autonomous satellite navigation system which will offer five state-of-the-art navigation services to users worldwide. Once fully deployed, it will feature a constellation of 30 satellites as well as a dedicated global ground infrastructure.

EGNOS is a system that improves the navigation signals of the American GPS system for users in Europe by providing higher accuracy and adding integrity for critical safety-of-life applications especially in the aviation sector. It started delivery of its first service in October 2009.

AEROSPACE FOR EUROPE – MORE THAN JUST FLYING

High Value, Low Carbon, Europes Future

The most important multistakeholder high level roundtable congress in Brussels in December 2010.
This is the aerospace event of the year where decision maker of the most leading European industry, politics and research meet.

Change!  Innovation!  Vision 2050!

Securing the vision for the next half century

On the 12 April 1961, Vostok 1 lifted off from the Soviet Cosmodrome in Baikonur with cosmonaut Major Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin on board. Gagarin was the first human being to leave the Earth’s atmosphere, and although his flight was to last only 1 hour 48 minutes, circling the Earth just once, it provoked important political, social, cultural and technical changes, and changed humanity’s perspective of its place on Earth forever.

The fiftieth anniversary of this flight provides an opportunity for a conference combining elements of historical review, assessment of the social and cultural impact of the event in the UK, Russia, and worldwide, and consideration of areas of scientific endeavour of common interest to both Russia and the West. The anniversary occurs as the long term objectives and strategy for human spaceflight are being questioned in both Russia and the West, making this an appropriate moment to revisit that first flight. To this end, a programme of lectures and discussions is being prepared involving significant Russian involvement. The aims of the conference are to:

• review the impact of Gagarin’s flight on space technology and space applications – in the UK and world-wide
• review the social, cultural and political impact of Gagarin’s flight – in the UK and world-wide
• review progress / achievements of the first joint UK-Russia celebratory ISS project agreed with Russian technical experts in July 2010
• discuss the legacy of Gagarin in the context of today’s space programmes – in the UK and world-wide.

Topics to be discussed will include five application areas identified by a joint UK-Russia forum as being of particular interest, namely space medicine and psychology, satellite communication technologies, optics and instrument systems, monitoring and natural disasters, and robotics and autonomous operations. The historical and cultural dimensions will also be given full attention.

Additionally, the conference will provide an opportunity to identify ways in which further unique collaborative ventures can be developed for the future, delivering benefit to both the UK and Russia.

The conference will be of interest to both the scientific and cultural communities. In the scientific and industrial sectors, it will appeal to those in the fields of exploration, human spaceflight, microgravity, space medicine and psychology, robotics, space mechanisms, communication technologies, optics and instruments, monitoring / natural disasters. On the humanities side, it will appeal to those working in culture and the arts (film, museums, galleries etc.), 20th century history, international politics, human destiny, and education (outreach).

There will be a strong networking element to the conference and both formal and informal opportunities for this will be provided.

Full programme to follow soon.

Lead Sponsor:

Sponsor: