2024 defense software & Data summit

Washington, DC | January 18, 2024

Youtube link showing The New Gray Zone panel sitting and speaking on stage

The New Gray Zone: Weaponized Supply Chains

Moderated by Vago Muradian, Founder, Defense & Aerospace Report

Hon. Alan Estevez, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security

Allen Thompson, Vice President of Government Affairs, Intel Corporation

John (Jerry) McGinn, Executive Director, Center for Government Contracting, George Mason University

Increasingly, geopolitical posturing plays out in the “gray zone”—the murky area below the level of conventional war, but beyond the bounds of diplomacy. In a gray zone arsenal, weaponizing supply chains is a key tactic to disrupt critical government operations. Where is the United States most vulnerable to adversarial influence in its supply chains? How can policymakers build supply chain resilience?

Is the U.S. Industrial Base Prepared for Protracted Conflict?

Moderated by Gordon Lubold, National Security Reporter, Wall Street Journal

Hon. Andrew Hunter, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics
Mr. Young Bang, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, & Technology

Alexis Lasselle Ross, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Strategy & Acquisition Reform
Brandon Tseng, Co-Founder, Shield AI

The conflict in Ukraine has illuminated gaping production shortfalls in the U.S. national security industrial base. What is preventing the United States from boosting production of critical capabilities? In the long term, how can the United States strengthen its industrial base to produce the equipment that it needs?

Youtube link showing Alexis Lasselle Ross speaking on stage
Youtube link showing James Rainey speaking on stage

Transformation of the Battlefield

Moderated by Tara Murphy Dougherty, CEO, Govini
GEN
James Rainey, Commanding General, Army Futures Command

Shyam Sankar, Chief Technology Officer, Palantir

Christian Brose, Chief Strategy Officer, Anduril

The operating environment of the next decade will be vastly different than that of today, as the character of warfare and adversarial capabilities evolve. How can the United States prepare for the future battlefield? What are the short-term and long-term strategies required to rapidly develop and field emerging technology? What is the ideal role of the private sector as our forces pursue ambitious modernization?

Fleeting Up: Shipbuilding & Naval Modernization

Moderated by Bryan Clark, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute

Rear Admiral Fred Pyle, Director, Surface Warfare Division, N96, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations

CAPT Matthew Culp, Senior Advisor, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations

Bruno Pontes Soares Rocha, Chief Operating Officer, Gecko Robotics

China is rapidly modernizing its Navy, with implications for the U.S. ability to project power in the region. Meanwhile, the Navy is challenged to meet its primary modernization objectives: replacing its aging submarine and destroyer fleet while procuring enough ships to achieve National Defense Strategy targets. How can the United States ensure that it is building the fleet it needs to deter adversaries?

Youtube link showing Rear Admiral Fred Pyle speaking on stage
Youtube link showing The New Gray Zone panel sitting and speaking on stage

Sustaining Nuclear Platforms In a Three-Party Nuclear Reality

Moderated by Kari Bingen, Director, Aerospace Security Project, Center for Strategic & International Studies

GEN (Ret). John Hyten, former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

For the first time in history, the United States faces two nuclear-capable, near-peer adversaries simultaneously. Yet while competitors have rapidly developed new nuclear capabilities, the United States must confront the sustainment and modernization challenges of aging platforms. How can the United States ensure that its nuclear capabilities provide strategic deterrence in this new era?