Day One | 4 November

7:00 - 8:20 REGISTRATION AND REFRESHMENTS

8:20 - 8:25 DEFENCE iQ WELCOME

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General (Ret'd) Frank Gorenc

Former Commander
USAFE-AFAFRICA

8:30 - 9:00 HOST NATION ADDRESS: PROMOTING AIR POWER THROUGH COLLABORATION AND INNOVATION

• Perspective on developments in 6th generation aircraft, and how cutting-edge technologies will support the Italian Air Force’s future capabilities

• Demonstrating the F-35 fleet’s Joint Air Power capabilities and growing proficiency with large-scale and international exercises

• Instilling a fifth-generation mindset with advanced training to achieve operational success

9:00 - 9:30 RESERVED FOR FOUR STAR LEAD PARTNER ADDRESS

OVERVIEW OF AIR POWER: ADAPTING TO UNCERTAINTY IN A CHANGING GLOBAL LANDSCAPE

9:30 - 10:00 ADVANCEMENTS NEEDED IN NATO AIR POWER TO EFFECTIVELY DETER AND DEFEAT THREATS FROM RUSSIA

• Gap analysis on NATO Air Power Developments against Russia

• Importance of rapidly increasing airborne electromagnetic warfare capabilities in Europe to bolster Western airpower

• Key observations from the conflict in Ukraine as allies offer air suppor

10:00 - 10:30 INDUSTRY INSIGHTS FROM AIRBUS


10:30 - 11:00 RAPID MODERNISATION OF CHINESE COMBAT AIR POWER

Douglas Barrie - Senior Fellow for Military Aerospsace, IISS

• How the Chinese Air Force are combining speed, power and agility to enhance performance and combat capabilities

• Strategic implications of Chinese 6th Generation aircraft development on NATO and the Indo-Pacific

• Keeping pace with advancements in AI-powered drones and loyal wingman to enhance force flexibility

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Douglas Barrie

Senior Fellow for Military Aerospsace
IISS

11:00 - 11:30 MORNING COFFEE AND NETWORKING

HARNESSING AUTONOMY FOR NEXT GENERATION AIR DOMINANCE TODAY

• Overview of Canada’s Air Forces’ defense strategy for the air domain and how a next-generation fighter would fit in

• Updates on Canadian Air Force’s current initiatives, program status, and anticipated timelines for implementation

• Adopting common operational and communication strategies and standards for effective collaboration with allies

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Major General Jeff Smyth

Chief Air & Space Force Development
Royal Canadian Air Force

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Crista-lynn Ferguson

Director General Fighter Capability
Royal Canadian Air Force

12:00 - 12:30 INDUSTRY INSIGHTS FROM BOEING

12:30 - 13:00 BOOSTING AIR COMBAT CAPABILITY TO ADDRESS AUSTRALIA’S DETERRENCE GAP

Air Commodore Pete Robinson - Commander, Air Combat Group, Royal Australian Air Force

• Increasing Air Combat mass, lethality, and survivability with increased force size, and supplementing squadrons with autonomous aircraft

• Challenges of integrating CCAs with the existing combat air fleet

• Enhancing combat readiness to respond to new and evolving threats 

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Air Commodore Pete Robinson

Commander, Air Combat Group
Royal Australian Air Force

13:00 - 13:30 PANEL DISCUSSION: HARNESSING AUTONOMY FOR NEXT GENERATION AIR DOMINANCE TODAY

• Software-defined or hardware-defined? Finding the balance for the development, procurement, and delivery of uncrewed combat platforms

• What are the biggest technical challenges? Different problem sets bring different challenges: dog fights, beyond visual range, and collaborative autonomous platforms

• What are the human challenges? The human element of human-machine teams and the systems that need to be put in place

• How quickly can this be achieved? Exploring the possibilities for FCAS and GCAP software technologies to be brought into service earlier

13:30 - 14:30 LUNCH AND NETWORKING

OPERATIONAL TRACK

14:30 - 15:00 SWEDISH AIR FORCE PERSPECTIVE ON THE EVOLVING OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT, AND ITS IMPACT ON CURRENT AND FUTURE REQUIREMENTS
Major General Jonas Wikman - Commander, Swedish Air Force

• Exploring the evolving threat landscape and its implications for airpower, agility, resilience, and multi-domain integration

• Swedish Air Force research initiatives into autonomy and MUM-T, with a focus on the development and operational integration of CCAs

• Identifying capability gaps and future force structure requirements shaped by emerging technologies, peer-level threats, and joint operational demands

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Major General Jonas Wikman

Commander
Swedish Air Force

OPERATIONAL TRACK

15:00 - 15:30 INDUSTRY INSIGHTS FROM SAAB

OPERATIONAL TRACK

15:30 - 16:00 UPDATES ON THE AIR FORCE’S COLLABORATIVE COMBAT AIRCRAFT
Lieutenant Colonel John Cummings - Autonomous Collaborative Platforms Division Chief, ACC, US Air Force

• Insights into USAF’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), updates on progress, building and fielding CCA

• Exploring CCA, an affordable, capable aircraft that complements the existing force

• Updates on acquisition and operations, working together to build, test, and integrate this new capability

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Lieutenant Colonel John Cummings

Autonomous Collaborative Platforms Division Chief, ACC
US Air Force

ADVANCED ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY TRACK

14:30 - 15:00 UTILISING AI AND ML FOR ENHANCED DECISION MAKING
Colonel Vito Cracas - Assistant Director, JAPCC NATO

• How artificial intelligence can support NATO’s future force and capability development, and what is the timeline for implementation in fixed-wing aircraft

• Ethical considerations for increasing reliance on automation, and potential disadvantages of adversaries use of AI without ethical considerations

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Colonel Vito Cracas

Assistant Director
JAPCC NATO

ADVANCED ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY TRACK

15:00 - 15:30 RESERVED FOR INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

ADVANCED ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY TRACK

15:30 - 16:00 PANEL DISCUSSION: COMBAT CLOUD: FIGHTING IN THE FOG NOW WITH AI & A DATA PLAN

• How can we ensure secure, real-time data sharing across joint and coalition platforms in highly contested environments?

• What role does artificial intelligence play in enhancing situational awareness and decision-making within the combat cloud?

• How should next-generation aircraft be designed to integrate seamlessly with distributed combat cloud architectures from day one?

• What are the biggest technical and policy challenges to achieving true multi-domain interoperability through the combat cloud?

16:00 - 16:30 AFTERNOON TEA AND NETWORKING BREAK

OPERATIONAL TRACK

16:30 - 17:00 ENSURING SUCCESSFUL INTEGRATION OF AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS WITHIN THE POLISH AIR CAPABILITIES
Major General Cezary Wiśniewski - Deputy General Commander, Polish Armed Forces

• Observations from Polish air activities as the Ukraine conflict continues

• Integrating systems such as UAVs into air combat capabilities to enhance operations

• Ensuring interoperability between multiple systems as they continue tobe developed

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Major General Cezary Wiśniewski

Deputy General Commander
Polish Armed Forces

OPERATIONAL TRACK

17:00 - 17:30 ROYAL NORWEGIAN AIR FORCE DEVELOPMENTS AND THE JOINT STRIKE FIGHTER TRANSITION
Major General Øivind Gunnerud - Chief, Royal Norwegian Air Force

• Overview of recent upgrades within the Royal Norwegian Air Force, including infrastructure, and integration of advanced technologies

• Joint Strike Fighter Integration: Progress and challenges in the full operational capability transition to the F-35A Lightning II, with focus on interoperability, tactical doctrine, and force readiness

• How the JSF programme reshapes Norway’s defence posture within NATO, enhances Arctic security operations, and supports multinational joint operations

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Major General Øivind Gunnerud

Chief
Royal Norwegian Air Force

ADVANCED ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY TRACK

16:30 - 17:00 NEXT-GENERATION WEAPON SYSTEM WITHIN THE FCAS PROGRAMME: SHAPING THE FUTURE OF COMBAT AIR

• Pairing remote vehicles with fighter aircraft to enhance operations and lethality

• The importance of working with allies to identify priorities and development opportunities

• Leveraging innovation and technological breakthroughs with nontraditional players

ADVANCED ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY TRACK

17:00 - 17:30 CAPABILITIES OF WEAPON SYSTEM SUPPORT CENTRE 1 TO SUPPORT EUROFIGHTER AND TORNADO
Colonel Ralf Kleindienst - Deputy Commander, Weapon Systems Support Center 1, Bundeswehr

• Strategies to maintain and support combat aircraft during both development and deployment

• Supporting the phase-in of remotely piloted aircraft

• Priorities for sustaining weapon capabilities for aircraft currently in deployment

• Associated technical challenges with supporting weapon systems fornext-generation aircraft

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Colonel Ralf Kleindienst

Deputy Commander, Weapon Systems Support Center 1
Bundeswehr

17:30 - 18:10 INDUSTRY LEADER’S PANEL DISCUSSION

  • How can industry support the needs of operators to balance capabilities with affordability? 
  • What do industry see as the requirements for achieving future air dominance and how will these requirements translate to capability for sixth generation platforms? 
  • With the need to rapidly expand production capacity for weapon systems, how can the customer support this process? How have assessments of necessary stockpiles changed? 
  • From an industry perspective, does there need to be a shift in training priorities towards essential mission sets and what rapid support can industry provide? 
  • How do industry experts view the future of autonomous capabilities for fighter platforms? 
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General (Ret'd) Frank Gorenc

Former Commander
USAFE-AFAFRICA

18:15 - 19:00 NETWORKING DRINKS RECEPTION