MSS MESSAGE FROM DR. REAGO
Members of the MSS Community,
2020 has been a trying year for all of us and MSS is no different. After recent strides forward in the conference approval process, travel restrictions and other physical separation measures necessitated by the COVID 19 virus have significantly impacted the CY 20 MSS conference schedule.
The conference chairs and the Executive Committee have conducted a series of planning teleconferences and have come to a decision to cancel the entire CY 20 Conference slate. This decision was not taken lightly and I want each of you to know that the Executive Committee remains committed to keeping MSS as a vibrant and effective interchange forum for DoD S&T activities in the military sensing technology area.
As evidence of this commitment to MSS, the Executive Committee has approved work on the planning for the CY 21 conference slate with a goal of returning to a regular OPTEMPO of four conferences in CY 21: Parallel, Active E-O / EO ICRM, Tri-Service Radar, and Joint. Other efforts to maintain momentum include conducting the MSS Fellow nomination and selection process for CY 20 and exploring the option of publishing partial proceedings for conferences that have already generated abstracts and/or papers. Along those lines, I ask all to consider submitting nominations of worthy candidates to the MSS Fellows Committee through the appropriate channels this year. The deadline for nominations is 5 June, but the Fellows Committee is looking at extending that window based on the current situation.
I hope all in the MSS community are staying safe and healthy during this trying period, and with your help, I look forward to a great year of conferences in 2021.
Don
Dr. Donald Reago
Chair, MSS Executive Committee
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Active E-O Systems
MSS is intended to bring the DoD technical and user community together to review and discuss advances in Active E-O Systems at the SECRET classified level. Attendees include key government and industry decision makers, program managers, and leading technical experts. This Symposium offers an overview of major active programs, a window on significant trends, and the opportunity to present new technology to the community. The MSS Active E-O Systems Symposium provides the premier classified forum for the military application of active electro-optical (E-O) and laser systems. Our annual meeting features presentations on requirements and solutions based on efforts carried out by government and industrial organizations. Although our symposium accepts unclassified papers, it is, in addition, the only forum for the presentation of classified material and/or materials not accepted for public release.
Electro-Optical & Infrared Countermeasures
The Electro-Optical Countermeasures Specialty Group provides a SECRET level classified forum that focuses on countermeasures and counter-countermeasures for electro-optically based sensors, seekers, and systems operating from the UV through the far-far infrared. The group focuses on the signatures of US platforms and the suppression of those signatures in order to make the job of countering enemy sensors and seekers easier. Threats are characterized including various types of missile seekers and other guided weapons, in order to develop specific means of countering them. Warning systems that inform platform crew of impending threats or automatically trigger countermeasure systems are covered, including various types of missile and laser warning systems and systems used for situational awareness. Self-protection decoys and active countermeasures systems such as jammers are treated. Finally the group also focuses specifically on hardening of sensors against enemy laser threats to those sensors.