Gen. John Lamontagne, the Air Force's deputy chief of staff who serves as a keynote at the summit. Photo: USAF
Top 5 Reasons to Attend the 2026 Air and Space Summit
The decisions being made right now about Golden Dome, the DAF Battle Network, and the future of air and space acquisition will determine contracts, priorities and careers for years to come — and the people making those decisions are all going to be in the same room on Thursday, July 30 for the 2026 Air and Space Summit. Last year’s edition drew a packed house of government and industry leaders and was one of the standout events of the year in this space; this year’s lineup is even deeper. If you work in air and space, this is the one day you can’t afford to miss. Seats are limited and they will go fast — register now to lock in your spot.
Here are five reasons you need to be in the room on July 30.
Why Should GovCons Attend the 2026 Air and Space Summit?
1. Learn Mission Priorities Straight From Air Force, Space Force and NASA Leadership
There’s what you read in the trade press, and then there’s what senior leaders actually tell a room full of their government and industry partners. This summit gives you the latter. Confirmed keynote speakers include:
- Tom Ainsworth, acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration, U.S. Space Force
- Matt Anderson, deputy administrator, NASA
- Anthony Baity, assistant deputy chief of staff for logistics, engineering and force protection, U.S. Air Force
- Gen. John Lamontagne, vice chief of staff, U.S. Department of the Air Force
- Dr. Eliahu Niewood (Pending Confirmation), director, Integrated Capabilities Office, U.S. Department of the Air Force
That’s a vice chief of staff, an acting assistant secretary and a NASA deputy administrator on the same agenda. These leaders don’t do a lot of public events — this is a rare shot at hearing mission priorities directly from the people setting them. Don’t read about it after the fact. Register today and hear it live.
2. Discover Details on Golden Dome, DAF Battle Network & Other Key Initiatives
The programs everyone is trying to get ahead of — Golden Dome, the DAF Battle Network and the broader push toward integrated, multi-domain command and control — are front and center on the agenda, not a footnote. Expect substantive discussion in sessions including:
- “From Detection to Decision: Orchestration Across Air and Space Domains” — Col. Ryan Frazier, Col. Raj Agrawal (Pending Confirmation), Col. Jason West, and Michael Bergen of Vantor, moderated by Iain Ferguson of SAIC
- Golden Dome Part Two: From Prototype to Production — Scaling Integrated Defense at Speed (Lunch Panel), moderated by Chris Fraser of Exiger Government Solutions
If you need to understand where these initiatives stand, what’s next, and how industry can plug in, this is where that conversation is happening in real time. These are the sessions your competitors will be quoting for the next six months.
3. Get Your Bearings — and a Leg Up — in a Shifting Acquisition Landscape
Acquisition is changing fast, and if you’re not tracking it closely, you’re already behind. The Pentagon-wide Acquisition Transformation Initiative launched last fall, and both the Air Force and Space Force are in the middle of shifting from program executive officers, or PEOs, to portfolio acquisition executives, a.k.a. PAEs, as the Department of War pushes to move faster. That’s a structural change to who holds the pen and the purse strings — and it affects how every contractor in this market needs to engage.
Keynote speaker Tom Ainsworth, acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration, is one of the officials leading this shift, and panels throughout the day — including Win or Lose: The Speed of Military Technology Advancement and Winning the Digital High Ground: Delivering the Department of the Air Force’s Network of the Future — will dig into what acceleration actually looks like on the ground. Whether you’re a prime, a mid-tier or a small business trying to find your entry point, understanding this transition now is a competitive advantage. Waiting until Q4 to figure this out is a losing strategy — get in the room on July 30.
4. Strike Up Partnerships With Other Industry Leaders
The 2026 Air and Space Summit puts you shoulder-to-shoulder with the companies already at the forefront of the air and space mission — the kind of room where deals start and teaming agreements get their first handshake. Sponsors include:
Kepler | Intel | AT&T | Ultra I&C | SES | Nightwing | SAIC | Exiger | Craft | AWS | Vantor | Lockheed Martin | Carahsoft
Speakers from these companies — along with leaders from Vantor, AWS, Planet Labs, Omnisat and more — will be presenting, moderating and networking throughout the day. If you’re looking for your next teaming partner, subcontractor, or customer introduction, this is a concentrated, high-value room to be in. Relationships built in one day here can define your pipeline for the next year.
5. Hear From Experts on AI/ML in Air and Space, Commercial Space Relay, Future Networks & More
Golden Dome and the DAF Battle Network will be the headline conversations, but the agenda goes deep on the technical and strategic issues underlying the broader mission too. Expect substantive sessions including:
- Connecting Constellations: The Case for Interoperable Optical Networks — Caitlin Marsh (Kepler U.S.) and Dr. Salem El Nimri (AWS)
- From Data to Decision: Advancing Multi-Level Security with AI/ML for the Modern Warfighter — Steven Butow, Randy Fields, Dr. Merrick Watchorn (Pending Confirmation), Ilya Levtov, Col. John Ohlund and Joseph Fraier
- “Commercial Space Relay: Achieving Speed to Mission” — Greg Heckler, Col. Aaron Stevenson, Samuel Sutton, Dr. Joseph Bravman and Jared Newton
- “Win or Lose: The Speed of Military Technology Advancement” — Ron Fritzemeier, Chris Jones, Dr. Robert Antypas, Dr. GP Sandhoo and Jacob Glassman
- “Winning the Digital High Ground: Delivering the Department of the Air Force’s Network of the Future” — Tang Pham, Didi Kuo (Pending Confirmation), Dan Kunze and Col. Mickey Jordan
From optical networking and multi-level AI/ML security to commercial space relay and next-gen networks, these sessions cover the full breadth of where air and space power is headed — and give you direct access to the officials and executives making it happen.
Why This Event Is Unmissable for the GovCon Community
This is the second year the Air and Space Summit has combined these two critical domains into a single event — and it’s grown into one of the most important dates on the calendar for anyone working across the Department of the Air Force, Space Force and NASA missions. One day. One location. Direct access to the leaders and companies defining the next era of air and space power.
Spots are filling up fast for Thursday, July 30, at the Hilton McLean in Virginia. Don’t wait until it’s sold out.
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