The Future Indirect Fires Conference will be held at Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol, on the 5th & 6th March 2024. The conference will be run by Omega Conferences & Events in conjunction with the Joint Military Training & Simulation Conference (JMTS). The aim of the conference is to examine the likely development of Joint Lethal & Non Lethal Indirect Fires during the next decade. The conference will include presentations from senior officers from many different countries and provide an opportunity for industry input.
The Future Indirect Fires Conference will be held in Bristol, UK on the 5th & 6th March 2024. The aim of the conference is to examine the likely development of Joint Lethal & Non Lethal Indirect Fires during the next decade. The conference will build on the 2023 event with an authoritative speaker panel of international Military Officers and Industry experts. The conference will act as a forum to review best practise for Equipping, Training, Integrating and Applying Indirect Fires in the future.
The Future Indirect Fires Conference will be run in conjunction with the Joint Military Training & Simulation Conference. There will be two streams within one large venue. Attendees will be able to access both streams within the same ticket price. Each stream will have its own room for presentations. There will be a combined breakout area with an exhibition and catering.
By collocating the two streams (Indirect Fires and Simulation Training) we are better able to address linked contemporary Indirect Fires challenges and the Synthetic Training Environment. The Multi Domain Battlespace is increasingly complex. The technical and operational boundaries between Ground and Air Launched Fires and Manoeuvre elements are increasingly blurred by weapon & sensor ranges, precision and sensor to shooter data links. The Synthetic Training Environment is a vital component of operational readiness by creating cognitive superiority at individual, crew and collective levels. Achieving this requires a high fidelity layered Synthetic Training Environment from semi immersive platforms on tablets and smart phones to fully immersive virtual and augmented reality systems. By collocating these two events we are providing attendees access to both the Fires end user operational needs and the synthetic training solutions to those needs.
There will be two lecture theatres to host each stream and a common exhibition and catering area. Attendees to any event will have full access to the other two streams within the ticket price and may pick & choose which presentations they attend. The event will be well attended by military and government personnel responsible for the development of these areas. Locating the event in Bristol ensures good attendance from DE&S personnel located at MOD Abbey Wood and the nearby Army HQ. Good transport links via road, rail & air ensures a good attendance by Royal Air Force and Royal Navy personnel from elsewhere in the UK and by international attendees. Our policy is to offer free attendance (on a quality vetted basis) to military and government personnel thus removing a significant obstacle to their attendance.
The JMTS Stream will cover key areas within Simulation, Education & Training, including Procurement Programmes, Standards, Training & Technological development.
The Artillery Stream will cover contemporary Indirect Fires challenges associated with Find, Fix, Understand, Strike, Equip and Integrate.
Since its inception in 2015 the event has really grown. The 2023 event had just over 250 attendees and 27 exhibitors. The Future Indirect Fires Conference will be attended by requirements and acquisition officials from the Land Systems divisions on national procurement bodies, as well as senior Military Officers from nations across the world. Also present will be the senior management of the leading industry contractors providing relevant technologies.
For security reasons we will only provide the conference location on request or to registered attendees. Please email digby.williams (at) omconf.com for the location.
Industry Delegates £1499 + VAT
Mil/Govt Delegates £0
Discounts
Group booking of 3 or more delegates = 10% discount
For Sponsorship and Exhibition packages please contact us for details.
The 2024 agenda is still work in progress and will be published in full soon. The following presenations and inputs were provided in 2023:
Opening Remarks
Lt Col Retd Andrew Tate, Former USMC Artillery Officer.
Day One Theme – Indirect Fires and Large Scale Warfighting Operations in the Contemporary Threat Environment
Firepower in the Russo-Ukraine War
John Musgrave, consultant and author of Firepower: Making 21st Century Warfare Decisive.
Accelerating the delivery of defence capability – the procurement challenge
Colonel Cameron Simpson, Team Leader, Artillery Systems IPT, UK MOD Defence Procurement Agency
Next Generation Adaptable Ammunition
Muneebah Suleman, Business Development Manager, Ben Worral, Technical Manager Fuze & Guidance and Aaron Farmer, Programme Manager, BAE Systems
Keynote Presentation
Major General Steve Maranian, Commanding General, 56th Artillery Command, US Army
Multi Domain shaping from a NATO Corps Perspective
Brigadier Matt Birch, Chief, Joint Fires and Influence Cell, HQ Allied Rapid Reaction Corps
FIND to STRIKE - the importance of STA in winning the counter-fires fight
Colonel Craig Palmer, Commander, Surveillance Group, British Army
Full Digital Dismounted 81mm Mortar
Andreas Häusler, Project Manager Weapons and Ammunition at Armasuisse, Armasuisse is the armament agency of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport DDPS, Switzerland
TARANIS Swiss Mortar System (TSMS) - fire control for the 8.1cm mortar 19 system
Jörg Schulz, Project Manager TSMS, ESG
Industry Technology Briefing - Elbit Systems UK Ltd
Panel Discussion – How should field artillery survive on the peer battlefield in order to deliver deep fires and close fire support?
Day Two Theme – Capability to meet contemporary and future challenges
Delivering the UK Army’s Future Fires
Mr Richard Smart, Senior Reporting Officer Army Joint Effects Programmes, British Army HQ
Next Generation Indirect Fires; Maintaining The Technical Edge
Mr Anthony Lewis, Long Range Deep Fires, Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (Dstl)
Inertial Navigation for the modern Army and Artillery in GNSS denied domain
Neil Perriton (Maj Retd) British Army, Head of Land Defence & Special Forces Northern Europe and Bruno Protte (Maj Retd) French Army Artillery, Global Land Defence Director
Safran optronics and PNT solutions for artillery and JTAC operations
Teddy Albion, Sales & Marketing Manager, Safran Electronics & Defence
Vitalizing the “God of War”
MG (Ret.) Mark McDonald, Consultant, AM General
Long Range Precision Fires Cross Functional Team
Colonel Rory Crooks, Director, Long Range Precision Fires Cross functional Team, US Army
Future Technology for Army Long Range Fires
Milton E. Henderson Jr, Chief Fuze Branch, Program Manager, PrSM Increment 3, Systems & Warheads Division, DEVCOM Aviation & Missile Center
Jason Wachs, Mechanical Engineer, Program Manager, LRMF S&T Program, Propulsion Engineering Division, DEVCOM Aviation & Missile Center
Panel Discussion – What capabilities are required to defeat the peer indirect fires threat.