Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (SAMs) 2026

The summit brings together military, government, industry, and academic leaders to examine current and emerging capabilities in air and missile defense. Discussion will address operational challenges, evolving threats, and future requirements shaping surface-to-air missile systems.

The symposium focuses on space and missile defense, with organization updates from Space and Missile Defense Command, Space Command, Golden Dome for America’s Direct Report Program Manager, T2COM, CUAS, Northern Command, PAE Fires, the Missile Defense Agency, and space and missile defense companies. Panel themes include SPACECOM, Missile Defense System Next, International Space, INDOPACOM, industry, next-generation space and missile defense, and PAE Fires. The program also includes a technology track with technical paper presentations, a small-business showcase, and an exhibit hall featuring technology and products.

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.

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.

The program focuses on weapon-system maintenance and sustainment, readiness, and defense industrial base revitalization. Plenary and breakout sessions examine acquisition authorities and faster capability delivery; domestic manufacturing, industrial-base investment, and workforce capacity; contested logistics and forward maintenance; munitions lifecycle management; resilient supply chains; and the application of AI, advanced manufacturing, software, and digital engineering to sustainment. Specific discussions include the Portfolio Acquisition Executive authorities under the Warfighting Acquisition System; the Major Weapon Systems and Critical Munitions Readiness Campaign Plan; EO 14415 supply-chain mapping and illumination; and public-private co-production, technical data and right to repair, intellectual property, and capital requirements for industrial-base expansion. The Weapon Systems Software Summit covers applied AI and autonomous systems, DevSecOps and software factories, cybersecurity and Zero Trust, digital engineering, data and cloud architecture, acquisition policy, and workforce and talent management. Associated forums address corrosion prevention, provisioning and cataloging, defense working-capital funds, depot capabilities, allied co-sustainment, and supply-chain risk management. The program also includes a Maintenance Innovation Challenge and a co-located Maintenance and Logistics Exhibition with a Maintenance Yard.

Theme: “Shared Deterrence: Delivering Asymmetric Depth through Collaborative Autonomy.” The symposium focuses on using autonomous systems as sensory and jamming nodes to extend electronic warfare effects into the battlespace, reduce physical risk to warfighters, preserve kinetic magazines, and strengthen spectrum dominance. Topics include collaborative autonomy and uncrewed delivery; next-generation EW payloads and cognitive algorithms; open architecture and coalition interoperability; and deploying non-kinetic capabilities through integration and interoperability. The AOC and Mugu Crows Chapter hold the symposium under a co-sponsorship agreement with NAWCWD. Sessions require security clearance: the first two days are US Secret, releasable to Australia and the United Kingdom; the final day is US Secret only. Attendance is open to appropriately cleared citizens of the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia.

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.

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 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.