12-07-07
NCAM Attends DMC in Las Vegas Dec. 3-6

Bruce Brailsford, NCAM Executive Director, represented NCAM at DMC 2007 on December 3-6 in Las Vegas. The theme of this year's Defense Manufacturing Conference was "Superiority and Affordability as Requirements ... HOW Do We Get Both?"   The conference addressed the performance requirements of the warfighter, present and future, and the ability to respond rapidly and effectively to a wide range of possible threats. Concurrent discussion on the issues impacting affordable manufacturing of these superior systems and platforms were offered as part of the agenda.

Average attendance over the last 10 years has been about 800 persons. DMC ’06 attendance was 1,067. On average, attendance is evenly split between government and industry participants, with a small complement from academia. Participants range from CEO and Flag Officer/SES level attendees to working level engineers.

The agenda for the conference was structured to provide an overview of defense manufacturing technology and sustainment challenges, as well as detailed technical discussions relating to the various initiatives and technology thrusts currently being pursued. The technical track sessions focused on topics such as metals, electronics, and composites processing, missile defense sponsored technologies, Supply Chain Sustainment, and others.

Logistics support for DMC ’07 is provided by the U.S. Air Force on behalf of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Advanced Systems & Concepts) [DUSD (AS&C)] and the Joint Defense Manufacturing Technology Panel (JDMTP). Conference management is provided by the Universal Technology Corporation.