DAY ONE | TUESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2025

7:00 - 8:10 REGISTRATION & REFRESHMENTS

8:10 - 8:15 DEFENCE iQ WELCOME

8:15 - 8:25 CHAIRMAN’S OPENING REMARKS

8:25 - 8:30 WELCOME ADDRESS FROM AIRBUS

DELIVERING PLATFORMS FOR CURRENT & FUTURE OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

8:30 - 8:50 HOST NATION KEYNOTE BRIEFING

8:50 - 9:20 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: BRITISH ARMY ROTARY WING


9:20 - 9:50 MISSION & REQUIREMENTS OF US ARMY AVIATION: DIRECTION OF FUTURE VERTICAL LIFT


9:50 - 10:20 LEAD PARTNER PRESENTATION: INDUSTRY INSIGHTS FROM AIRBUS

Victor Gerin-Roze - Head of UAS Business, Airbus Helicopters
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Victor Gerin-Roze

Head of UAS Business
Airbus Helicopters

10:20 - 10:50 ROYAL MALAYSIAN NAVAL AVIATION ASPIRATION


10:50 - 11:20 MORNING COFFEE AND NETWORKING BREAK

11:20 - 12:00 PANEL DISCUSSION: DEFINING AND DELIVERING CAPABILITIES FOR THE FUTURE OPERATING ENVIRONMENT

James Gavin - Head of Future Capability Innovation, DE&S - UK MoD
Helen Wheatley - NGRC and NMH Lead, DE&S - UK MoD

·       With the Ukraine conflict exposing new rotorcraft vulnerabilities, what is the future role of rotorcraft in the battlefield environment?

·       How can rotary fleets be upgraded to enhance defensive operations, and counter both crewed and uncrewed system attacks

·       How are militaries adapting to account for unmanned and uncrewed experimentation, and how will proposed capabilities support future operations?

·       Perspectives on how to balance investments to upgrade current fleets, while looking ahead to future programs & developments

·       How should the role of rotary aviation evolve to meet contemporary threats?

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James Gavin

Head of Future Capability Innovation
DE&S - UK MoD

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Helen Wheatley

NGRC and NMH Lead
DE&S - UK MoD

UPDATES ON CURRENT PROGRAMMES FOR THE ROTARY WING

12:00 - 12:30 INDUSTRY INSIGHTS FROM LEONARDO

12:30 - 13:00 NEXT GENERATION ROTORCRAFT CAPABILITY: PROGRAMME UPDATE AND NEXT PHASE OF CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

·       Status update and key priorities of NGRC for 2025/2026

·       What could the next phase of development look like for the NGRC as contracts are awarded to Airbus, Sikorsky and Leonardo for potential platform concepts

·       How will open system architecture benefit the development of the NGRC, and allow for a 2038 delivery of the next-generation platform

13:00 - 13:30 MEETING TODAY’S ROTORCRAFT REQUIREMENTS AND THE PATH TO NEXT GENERATION ROTORCRAFT CAPABILITY

Jay Macklin - Director, Army, and Air Force (AAFS) Strategy and Business Development, Sikorsky, A Lockheed Martin Company
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Jay Macklin

Director, Army, and Air Force (AAFS) Strategy and Business Development
Sikorsky, A Lockheed Martin Company

13:30 - 14:30 LUNCH AND NETWORKING BREAK

14:30 - 15:00 CANADIAN AIR FORCE: OUR NORTH, STRONG AND FREE MODERNISATION PROGRAMME

Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Fountain - Director Air Requirements 9 (Tactical Aviation), Royal Canadian Air Force


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Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Fountain

Director Air Requirements 9 (Tactical Aviation)
Royal Canadian Air Force

OBSERVATIONS FROM CURRENT CONFLICTS: CHALLENGES, LESSONS IDENTIFIED, AND PREPARING FOR THE MISSION OF THE FUTURE


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Roberto Garavaglia

Senior Vice President, Strategy & Rotorcraft Business Evolution
Leonardo

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Jay Macklin

Director, Army, and Air Force (AAFS) Strategy and Business Development
Sikorsky, A Lockheed Martin Company

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Cristian Naso

Managing Director NHIndustries and Head of NH90 Program at Leonardo
NHIndustries

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Vincent Chenot

H160M Programme Manager
Airbus Helicopters

15:40 - 16:10 LESSONS IDENTIFIED FROM CONTEMPORARY CONFLICT: HOW THE FRENCH ARMY AVIATION IS ADAPTING TO THE REALITIES OF THE FUTURE BATTLEFIELD

Brigadier General David Cruzille - Commanding General, French Army Aviation


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Brigadier General David Cruzille

Commanding General
French Army Aviation

16:10 - 16:40 AFTERNOON TEA BREAK, & VIP EXHIBITION TOURS

16:40 - 17:10 DIRECTION OF FUTURE VERTICAL LIFT


17:10 - 17:40 SOF-AIR DEVELOPMENT FOR MODERNISING THE ROYAL NETHERLANDS AIR FORCE

Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Hoogsteder - Program Manager SOF Air, Royal Netherlands Air Force


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Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Hoogsteder

Program Manager SOF Air
Royal Netherlands Air Force

17:40 - 18:10 US ARMY SPECIAL OPERATIONS AVIATION COMMAND PRIORITIES FOR FVL


18:10 - 18:20 CHAIRMAN’S CLOSING REMARKS & DAY ONE SUMMARY

18:20 - 18:50 NETWORKING DRINKS RECEPTION

19:00 - 21:00 CHAIRMAN’S DINNER BY INVITATION ONLY – HOSTED BY AIRBUS