Senator Deb Fischer serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee and has been a leading congressional voice on nuclear deterrence, strategic forces, and the modernization of U.S. air and space defense capabilities. As security competition intensifies and emerging technologies reshape deterrence, Congress is playing a central role in guiding investments and policy for homeland and global defense. In this conversation, she will discuss priorities across integrated air and missile defense, the evolving concept of a “Golden Dome” homeland defense architecture, the future of strategic deterrence and New START, and how the United States is balancing resilience, escalation management, and readiness in an increasingly contested air and space domain.

The Air Force has rapidly progressed on its first collaborative combat aircraft, going from concept to first flight in just 16 months. Now, the service is looking at the second round of its drone wingman completion and has incorporated the robot drone concept into its future fighter jet plans. What innovations does the Air Force want to see from industry on future CCAs while still balancing cost expectations? What will the integration of drone wingmen mean for future combat operations?

The Air Force has worked quickly to comply with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s acquisition reform mandates. In addition to announcing new program acquisition executives, the service has named an Air Force general as a portfolio manager for critical major weapons systems, reporting directly to the Office of the Secretary of Defense on major programs such as the Sentinel and Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, the B-21 bomber, the F-47 fighter jet, and the VC-25B presidential aircraft. Does Air Force leadership believe these changes will lead to more affordable and effective defense programs? This panel will examine that question and more.

As global competition accelerates and space becomes an increasingly contested warfighting domain, the U.S. Space Force is transforming how the nation protects, operates, and prevails in space. From building resilient satellite architectures and advancing space domain awareness to integrating digital systems and autonomous capabilities, the service is redefining how space power enables joint and coalition operations. In this keynote conversation, Defense One will speak with Lt. Gen. Greg Gagnon, Commander, Combat Forces Command, about the operational execution of spacepower. The discussion will examine how combat-credible space forces are organized, trained, and employed to support deterrence, crisis response, and high-end conflict. The conversation will also explore operational readiness in contested environments, integrating capabilities across the joint force, and how the Space Force is preparing to fight and win in competition and conflict beyond the atmosphere.

As space becomes an increasingly critical domain for military operations, the United States and its allies are facing a more congested, competitive, and contested orbital environment. From counterspace threats and debris risks to the growing reliance on space-enabled intelligence, communications, navigation, and missile warning, space is now inseparable from modern deterrence and warfighting. In this session, senior military leaders and space policy experts will examine how the U.S. is preparing for operations in a contested space environment. The conversation will explore evolving threats from peer competitors, the role of resilience and deterrence in orbit, and how military and commercial partnerships are reshaping space architecture. Panelists will also discuss what it means to operate, defend, and sustain space capabilities in an era where space superiority can no longer be assumed.

As military operations extend deeper into contested and data-saturated space environments, the ability to sense, decide, and act faster than an adversary is becoming decisive. Space forces are moving beyond isolated AI pilots toward an enterprise approach that integrates artificial intelligence across training, testing, and operational infrastructure. By embedding AI into mission rehearsal environments and operational architectures from the outset, leaders aim to accelerate capability validation, improve resilience, and ensure operators can trust automated decision support under real-world conditions. This conversation will explore how the service is developing an end-to-end framework for AI in space operations, spanning digital test ranges, synthetic training environments, and live mission systems. The discussion will examine how realistic data environments enable rapid iteration, how human operators learn to collaborate with autonomous tools, and how organizations validate safety, reliability, and performance before fielding capabilities at scale.

The Army’s modernization initiative, Transformation in Contact, is dramatically changing how the service handles acquisition—allowing contractors to bring their tech to soldiers in the field, take feedback, and make changes on the spot. In just the first iteration of the initiative, soldiers tested 360 unmanned aerial systems, 800 mobility systems, 50 counter-UAS systems, 20 persistent lower-orbit communications systems, and 10 electronic warfare systems. And now the Army has expanded the program to more units throughout the service. In this panel, Defense One will speak to leaders about what they’ve learned so far, and what the future holds for Army tech.

As NATO confronts an increasingly complex and contested security environment, the alliance is accelerating efforts to modernize its forces and harness emerging technologies to maintain collective defense and deterrence. From artificial intelligence and digital integration to data-driven decision-making, rapid innovation is central to how NATO prepares for the future fight. This dicussion will examine how NATO militaries are advancing modernization across domains, fostering deeper collaboration among allies and industry, and embedding AI and digital capabilities into operational planning and force development. The discussion will explore how NATO is aligning innovation with interoperability, resilience, and mission readiness.