Thirteen years ago, New Mexico State University held its first UAS TAAC (Technical Analysis and Applications Center) conference, primarily focused on the civil use of UAS in the United States. The conference was one of a very few UAS conferences held in the United States at the time.
Since then, there has been explosive growth in the application of UAS, primarily in the defence sector. With rapid growth in UAS applications, the conference is a valuable forum for DoD, DHS, FAA, other Federal Agencies, and aerospace entrepreneurs to promote this revolution in the aerospace industry. The UAS TAAC venue has succeeded in getting together the organizations in the United States that matter.
At the TAAC’s 13th annual conference on December 6 – 8, 2011 there will again be speakers and attendees from many federal agencies (DoD, NASA, DHS, NOAA, BLM, USGS), aviation user groups such as AOPA, AIA, universities, and private industry. The Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort, located on the Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, just north of Albuquerque, will serve once again as TAAC’s conference headquarters. The event is sponsored by New Mexico State University/ Physical Science Laboratory
Mr. Dyke Weatherington, Deputy Director, Unmanned Warfare, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (OUSD) AT&L, will serve as Conference Chair. The conference will begin with a reception on the evening of December 5, followed by two days of open sessions, and culminating in a day of classified presentations.
Agenda topics include issues affecting the future of UAS in the military and civilian communities: airspace access, sense and avoid, spectrum management, operational experience in civilian airspace, future mission sets, ISR, capabilities and requirements.
KEY SPEAKERS
- Conference Chair: Dyke Weatherington, Deputy Director, Unmanned Warfare, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (OUSD) AT&L
- Rear Admiral William E. Shannon, III, Program Executive Officer for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons, U.S. Navy
- Lt. Gen. Richard Zahner, Deputy Chief of Staff, G2, U.S. Army*
- Maj. Gen. Michael Kostelnik (Ret.), Assistant Commissioner, Office of CBP Air and Marine, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security
Source: Web Site