Collaborative EW 2027

AOC’s mission-critical summits bring together active-duty military, government leaders, industry partners, and academia to address challenges facing warfighters. Subject-matter experts represent electronic warfare, electromagnetic spectrum operations, and information operations disciplines.

The summit addresses force-level electronic warfare and electromagnetic spectrum operations capabilities across the services. Panels and keynotes will cover requirements and technologies vital to joint warfighting and electromagnetic spectrum advantage. Department of Defense leaders will discuss the roles of EW and EMSO in JADC2, joint long-range fires, and information advantage, with emphasis on artificial intelligence and machine learning to close gaps in joint capabilities. The summit is classified US Secret and TS/SCI.

Theme: EMS Superiority – Challenges and Opportunities Across the Globe. The convention addresses the evolving landscape of electromagnetic warfare and electromagnetic spectrum operations, including the policies, partnerships, and technologies needed to achieve superiority in a contested and congested domain. Programming includes keynote presentations from senior military commanders and industry thought leaders; technical sessions on electromagnetic warfare, cyber operations, and spectrum dominance; interactive breakouts; expert-led panel discussions; and program manager briefings specific to the Navy, Army, and Air Force. The expo hall features technologies and solutions from defense contractors, emerging technology companies, and research institutions.

Sessions are classified TS//SCI.

Focuses on the pending delivery of capabilities in support of multi-domain operations (MDO) under large-scale combat operations (LSCO) conditions, remaining research needs to address future threats, and equipping the Army of 2040 with advanced electromagnetic warfare, cyber, signals intelligence, information operations, and other forms of non-kinetic fires to dominate the electromagnetic spectrum. Sessions are classified US Secret.

The program aligns U.S. military priorities, executive-order implementation, congressional funding, acquisition pathways, industrial-base capacity, and operational requirements for uncrewed systems. Sessions address defense acquisition reform; FY27 funding and investment signals; the Drone Dominance Program; domestic manufacturing capacity and supply-chain resilience; small-business pathways into defense markets; and export markets, financing, and export controls. Other themes include Army and Air Force autonomy fielding, congressional oversight, lessons from Ukraine, maritime security, undersea infrastructure, and scaling uncrewed surface and undersea systems. The program identifies Executive Orders 14265, 14268, 14307, 14372, and 14415 among the policy frameworks discussed. Featured speakers include Admiral Thomas Allan, Jr., Vice Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard; William Kimmitt, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade; and Emil Michael, Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering and Department of War Chief Technology Officer. Registration is restricted to U.S. citizens and citizens of allied or partner nations; the event is closed to media.

A professional development event for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Space Force, and the aerospace and defense industry, focused on critical concerns and challenges of joint warfare. The symposium draws speakers from the Air Force, Space Force, combatant commands, industry, and the joint force, and includes dynamic exhibits. A 2027 agenda and named speakers were not listed on the event pages reviewed.

The program focuses on training readiness and lethality for all-domain dominance, with papers, tutorials, workshops, special events, and exhibits on modeling, simulation, training, and education. Topics include military AI and autonomy; synthetic training; digital engineering and digital twins; defense acquisition and sustainment; wargaming; human performance and extended reality; cyber and electronic warfare; and skilled-trades workforce development for national security. Senior-leader discussions address translating operational needs into training capabilities, acquisition priorities, military AI, and service modernization. Other sessions cover NATO mission-space digital twins, small-arms direct-fire science and technology, data-driven readiness, and digital engineering ecosystems. The conference is hosted by the National Training and Simulation Association, an affiliate of the National Defense Industrial Association. Attendance is open to Five Eyes partners, NATO member countries, and countries that profess neutrality.

The 2026 conference marks NTSA’s 60th anniversary and centers on the U.S. Army lead-service theme, “Beyond the Battlefield: Training Readiness and Lethality for All-Domain Dominance!” The program combines executive presentations, technical papers, tutorials, professional development workshops, special events, and Next Big Thing talks focused on modeling, simulation, training, education, AI, autonomous systems, synthetic environments, operational test and evaluation, acquisition modernization, digital engineering, digital twins, cyber and information warfare, and the defense industrial base. Featured content includes an Industry Keynote by Brandon Tseng, President & Co-Founder, Shield AI; a Featured Government Keynote by Amy Henninger, SES, Ph.D., Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), DoW; and senior-leader discussions involving LTGEN Austin, USMC; MAJ GEN Cropsey, USAF; and MAJ GEN Smith, USSF. Special events include the Congressional M&S Caucus; Digital First discussions on defense acquisition through AI, digital engineering, simulation, and digital twins; Building an AI Ready Military Force; a Naval Aviation Flag Officer Panel; NATO mission-space digital twins; Air Force maintenance training; cyber, electromagnetic, wargaming, and information warfare; and program briefs on training acquisition and the All-Domain Marine. The program also includes perspectives from government, industry, academia, and international partners.