Podcast: Interview – Charlie Kawasaki, Chief Technology Officer of Curtiss-Wright's PacStar

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February 26, 2021

Podcast: Interview – Charlie Kawasaki, Chief Technology Officer of Curtiss-Wright's PacStar

Published in Shephard
Podcast by The Shephard news team

The Shephard news team: "As the Internet of Things matures along with automated digital technologies, the promise of data-driven applications, intelligent adaptive systems and embedded automized systems to name but three examples, the potential of new technology will be realised in every military environment."

"This is no truer than in battlefield communications with significant initiatives underway in Europe, the United States, and elsewhere. With me to discuss how networked tactical communications are evolving is Charlie Kawasaki, Chief Technology Officer of PacStar."

"I thought I'd ask you, initially Charlie, to describe what you see as the main trends from your position, in tactical network modernization. Obviously, as I said in the introduction, this is a very fast-moving environment, so I think listeners might be interested to get your perspective."

Charlie Kawasaki: "Well thanks. There's a number of trends in the tactical communications industries and in tactical communications programs and it hearkens back to what you just said - the desire to make available a wide range of advanced technologies that in some ways are being driven out of the commercial sector but then can be adapted and deployed in the tactical theatre."

"There's an incredible innovation pace now in technology in the commercial sector and to leverage that the tactical communications programs are looking at several things. First, how do you deploy all this technology out at the edge of the network where the warfighters are. As it grows and grows in terms of size and complexity, it becomes very large and unwieldy. You can't drive around Google Cloud around in theatre. And so a major initiative is in enabling mobility or maintaining the mobility of our warfighters by shrinking this technology right down into very small form factor solutions."

Listen to the podcast (from 33:28).

PacStar Tactical Communications Solutions

Combining tactical networking equipment and software, our PacStar tactical communications solutions enable enhanced battlefield situational awareness down to the individual warfighter. Our solutions for battlefield network management include commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)-based rugged, small form factor communications systems and proprietary IQ-Core Software for integrated network communications management.