ARLINGTON, Virginia (August 26, 2019) – The U.S. Army Rapid Equipping Force (REF) recently presented at the Counter UAS Summit 2019 hosted in Arlington, VA. The event brought together leaders from across the Counter UAS community to discuss current and emerging threats and challenges facing military, government, and law enforcement groups.
Guests included members from the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Aviation Administration, Transportation Security Administration, and many more.
COL Joe D. Bookard, REF Director, provided an overview of the REF, including the organizational structure, mission and vision, and unique authorities. He then discussed the REF’s efforts with Counter UAS projects, current Counter UAS solutions that the REF is equipping, and REF’s future technology investments within the broader UAS arena.
The presentation was met with extremely positive response. Personnel from across the agencies in attendance had the opportunity to talk one-on-one with COL Bookard about the future of Counter UAS, both within DoD, government, law enforcement, and tech industry communities.
Key areas of interest amongst the audience included the Army’s interoperability and collaboration with the other services, future collaborations and partnerships, and challenges and successes.
SFC Alec Rubenstein and SFC Bryan Hernandez, vital members of the REF Outreach team, provided a demonstration of one of REF’s latest procurements – the virtual trainer for the DroneDefender. The DroneDefender is a non-kinetic solution to defend airspace against UAS, such as quadcopters, hexacopters, and fixed-wing UAS, without compromising safety or risking collateral damage.
The REF has been at the forefront of equipping Counter UAS solutions to U.S. Army forces employed globally since 2012 and through present day. We will continue to collaborate with our partners in federal and government agencies, globally employed units, and industry and academia.
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About the REF
The REF provides innovative materiel solutions to meet the urgent requirements of U.S. Army forces employed globally, informs materiel development for the future force, and (on order) expands to meet operational demands. The REF supports priority equipping efforts over a wide range of challenges such as subterranean operations, electronic warfare, unmanned and counter unmanned aerial systems, intelligence, and expeditionary force protection. Learn more at www.ref.army.mil.
| Date Taken: | 08.26.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 08.26.2019 10:44 |
| Story ID: | 337424 |
| Location: | VA, US |
| Web Views: | 127 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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