Air Force Integrated Capabilities Director to Discuss Tech Modernization at 2026 Air & Space Summit
- Niewood leads threat-informed capability development and resource prioritization
- He’s focused his career on space warfighting and air operation technologies
- Hear directly from Niewood during his keynote at the 2026 Air and Space Summit!
Potomac Officers Club, the nation’s top GovCon events and networking organization, is excited to announce that Dr. Eliahu Niewood, director, Integrated Capabilities Office, and director, studies and analysis, Department of the Air Force, will deliver a keynote address at the 2026 Air and Space Summit on July 30 at the Hilton McLean in northern Virginia.
Niewood joins a thrilling lineup of leading minds in air and space technology at the 2026 Air and Space Summit, POC’s flagship forum for evaluating business opportunities in air and space national security technologies. Additional keynotes include:
- Matt Anderson, NASA deputy administrator
- Anthony Baity, Air Force assistant deputy chief of staff for logistics, engineering and force protection
- Gen. John Lamontagne, Air Force vice chief of staff
- Tom Ainsworth, Air Force acting assistant secretary for space acquisition and integration
- Brig. Gen. Mark Bigley, Space Command current operations division chief
The Air Force and Space Force are slated to receive significant boosts in funding for FY 2027. The USAF’s request of $339 billion would be a 38-percent increase compared to the $246 billion provided in FY 2026. This will make essential investments in critical USAF programs like the Family of Affordable Mass Missiles, the Advanced Battle Management System and Collaborative Combat Aircraft.
The USSF, for its part, is requesting $71 billion for FY 2027. This would be a 78-percent boost from the $40 billion enacted last fiscal year. As a result, the USSF plans to invest in indispensable technologies including space situational awareness, resilient missile warning tracking and evolved strategic satellite communications.
As director, Integrated Capabilities Office, and director, studies and analysis for the DAF, Niewood leads threat-informed capability development and resource prioritization, helping the USAF and USSF deliver effective warfighting solutions while ensuring the sound application of technology. He helps identify and prioritize optimized and cost-effective solutions in the USAF’s $90 billion modernization budget.
Niewood will address potential approaches for addressing challenges in the DAF innovation ecosystem. He will also describe the Integrated Capabilities Office’s role in DAF modernization.
Why Is the 2026 Air and Space Summit a Must-Attend Event for GovCon Executives?
The 2026 Air and Space Summit on July 30 brings together top technology executives to discuss the emerging air and space technologies, and strategies transforming warfare. Hear directly from elite officials and innovators from the USAF, USSF, NASA, the National Reconnaissance Office and more, as well as industry leaders. Get the latest partnership opportunities and actionable business intelligence from discussions led by the top talents in national security technologies.
Take advantage of this unique opportunity to engage with the leaders driving the future of the USAF, USSF, the NRO, NASA and more at the 2026 Air and Space Summit on July 30. Seating is extremely limited for this highly anticipated event—buy your ticket now!
Who Is Eliahu Niewood?
Eliahu Niewood has spent his career at the forefront of transformative national security research and development. He previously served as vice president, Air and Space Forces, in MITRE’s national security sector. There, Niewood set strategy and priorities to ensure MITRE delivered technical capabilities to meet the services’ most essential objectives and priority efforts.
Earlier, Niewood was a technical advisor to the director of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. He also served as head of the MIT Lincoln Laboratory’s engineering division, where he oversaw mechanical, aerospace and control system engineers developing space payloads and aircraft sensor systems.
Niewood chaired the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, a federal advisory committee of 50 national experts in science and technology fields, from 2011 to 2014. He is a recipient of the Secretary of the Air Force Distinguished Public Service Award and holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
What Has Eliahu Niewood’s Career Focused On?
Eliahu Niewood has focused his career on researching and developing the emerging technologies shaping national security. These include:
- Space warfighting
- Air operations
- Nuclear enterprise modernization
- Cyber operations
- Multi-domain operations
What Niewood Will Discuss in His Keynote
Eliahu Niewood’s keynote at the 2026 Air and Space Summit on July 30 will provide GovCon technology executives with an exclusive opportunity to learn from one of the top experts in emerging air and space technologies.
Some possible topics include:
- Software acquisition
- Balancing affordability with capability
- Rapid acquisition pathways
- Requirements reform
- USAF and USSF modernization priorities
- And more!
Why Should GovCons Attend the 2026 Air and Space Summit?
The 2026 Air and Space Summit on July 30 is the essential forum for GovCon technology professionals. Attendees of the summit can look forward to:
- Panel discussions on the most imperative technology topics:
- Discover accelerating sensor-to-decision timelines through data-centric architectures at From Detection to Decision: Orchestration Across Air and Space Domains
- Examine NASA’s transition toward commercial relay infrastructure at Commercial Space Relay: Achieving Speed to Mission
- Explore transitioning Golden Dome from prototype to production-ready capability at Golden Dome Part Two: From Prototype to Production – Scaling Integrated Defense at Speed
- And more!
- Informative question-and-answer sessions
- Networking with other ambitious GovCon executives in a supportive and collaborative atmosphere
The 2026 Air and Space Summit on July 30 is the must-attend GovCon forum for professionals interested in the future of air and space national security technologies. Take advantage of this fantastic opportunity to learn of new partnership opportunities and gain an edge on your competition in FY 2027. Secure your seat today!
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