Red Baron Roost Kicks Off 2026 Lecture Series

The AOC Red Baron Roost opened its annual lecture series with the first event of 2026 in Meckenheim,, Germany, near Bonn, on February 5, hosted by ELETTRONICA Group Germany. About 55 members and guests from industry, the Armed Forces, and the Federal Ministry of Defense, as well as institutes and academia, attended lectures on the overall topic “Command & Control of Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations.”

ELETTRONICA Managing Director Dr. Marcello Mariucci welcomed guests, and Chapter Vice President Lt. Col. “Benny” Bauer thanked the company for hosting and introduced the agenda for the evening. The following 2.5 hours were filled with three briefings and Q&A sessions.

Commander Foehling, supported by Lt. Col. Landefeld – both from the German Federal Ministry of Defense – introduced the challenges within the dense spectrum, covering shared frequencies and sequencing among various military and civil users. The presentation addressed the development of frequency allocations, particularly the immense challenges following commercial auctions of frequency bands (UMTS and LTE), which have driven today’s highly complex technical and technological applications and the need for spectrum management. A structured and standardized approach is required, one that focuses on implementation as well as training and cooperation across armed forces and layers within NATO. It was a highly topical and thought-provoking presentation.

The second lecture was delivered by Mr. Kaufmann of LSTELCOM on spectrum management. He addressed the challenges stemming from civil and military use of the spectrum and noted that, given an already congested spectrum, management is becoming increasingly crucial to ensure operational access. The need for real-time coordination, without leakages and with sufficient bandwidth and throughput, is paramount for freedom of maneuver and spectrum superiority.

The final briefing came from Lt. Col. (Ret.) Espedito “Tito” Passaro, formerly of the Italian Air Force and now with ELT Group. He described the importance of spectrum operations in conjunction with A2AD scenarios, noting that success in such an environment will depend heavily on the ability to ensure spectrum superiority.

Each briefing was followed by a Q&A session. Speakers were thanked by Bauer with the Red Baron Roost Coin and a bottle of high-proof spirits – what the group calls “frequency water.”

The next lecture event will take place in Hamburg in June. – Benny Bauer/Gerhard Henselmann