From: North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Written by Robin Michelle Barnett, Staff Writer

“Advanced Technologies in Defence and Security” was the theme at the 10th annual Future Soldier Exhibition & Conference (FSEC 2012) held in Prague, Czech Republic at the Letňany exhibition grounds from 17-19 October.

Over a hundred exhibitors and conference attendees from 22 countries and 45 delegations from the North Atlantic Alliance, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Europol and several countries attended the central European event which marked its 10th anniversary.

Formally invited by the Czech Republic Ministry of Defence, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (DSACT) Polish General Mieczysław Bieniek attended the FSEC 2012 where he along with Mr. Alexandr Vonda, Minister of Defence, Czech Republic, delivered opening remarks.

The 2012 event is a follow-up to the 2002 Prague Summit, which placed cyber defence on the Alliance’s political agenda for the first time,” stated Mr. Vonda. “This reflects, inter-alia, the current developments in the fields of cyber defence and Smart Defence, which require our utmost attention.”

The “Future of Cyber” conference was held in conjunction with the FSEC exhibition. The FSEC, described as a unique platform for a truly unique information exchange also included exhibitions on C4 ISR, Cyber Defence, CBRN System, Future Soldier Technologies and Equipment, Weapons, Ammunitions, Vehicles, Modular Units and Building, Simulation, Critical Infrastructure Protection, Training, and more.

“This forum contributes to greater information exchange among NATO Allies and Partners about current trends in the area of modern defence” stated DSACT. “FSEC 2012 reflected current development in the fields of cyber defence and cybernetics which are interconnected with both security and defence”.

Industry collaboration at events such as these is imperative as military cyber development projects count their lifecycles in dozens of years while the rate of commercial electronic products, in particular mobile phones, computers and their derivatives, has reduced their lifecycle to about two years, this according to the FSEC 2012 website.

“This difference is why defence projects utilise commercial electronic products. This is why conferences such as FSEC 2012 are so important; they showcase the newly developed technology, a possible future Smart Defense capability”, said DSACT.

DSACT also met with the Minister of Defence and Chief of Defence to discuss current and future cooperation with NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT) support to operations, Cyber Defence, Smart Defence (SD), Connected Forces Initiative (CFI), post-Afghanistan issues and partnership development.

“We are grateful to the Czech Republic Ministry of Defence for their commitment to support to NATO operations in terms of the Smart Defence projects”, said DSACT. “We look forward to future collaboration.”

General Bieniek also took part in JFEC panels on “Collaboration with Industry” and “Cyber Defence”. The next exhibition aptly titled “Future Forces Exhibition & Conference” will take place in 2014 on 15-17 October. For more information visit the FSEC 2012 webpage at www.natoexhibition.org.