In order to allow for sufficient time to check-in and receive your Event Pass, we politely request that all attendees arrive at the venue by 9:30.
PUBLIC staff will be at the venue entrance from 8:00 for those who wish to check-in early and enjoy a quiet coffee or tea before the action starts!
With major reforms reshaping UK Defence, from the creation of UKDI to the Strategic Defence Review and the Defence Industrial Strategy, the challenge now is turning policy into practice. This panel will examine how investment can be directed and procurement leveraged to drive a genuine ‘prove and exploit’ model, accelerating the delivery of cutting-edge technologies to the frontline.
Bringing together voices from the MOD, industry, and investors, the discussion will explore the value chain from demand signals to defence supply chains. We will also examine how private capital can accelerate the maturation and integration of leading capabilities, and what armed forces can do differently to encourage larger pots of funding and to achieve the dividend of greater market competition
This panel will be an honest, practical conversation designed to bridge the gap between aspirational culture and reality. It moves beyond high-level buzzwords to explore the tangible, practical actions required to embed an innovative, agile, and risk-taking culture across the entire defence enterprise. The discussion will focus specifically on two crucial enablers: leadership behaviours and the innovation skill-sets that are needed to catalyse and unlock change.
The goal is to develop an actionable roadmap for building a whole force approach - one where every branch of Defence is empowered and equipped to contribute to a rapidly adaptive operational environment. We are looking for concrete answers, drawing on diverse experiences from within defence, across the public sector as well as from corporate settings.
Showcasing success stories of innovators from both the startup ecosystem and within MOD delivering impact across Defence.
This fireside chat will explore lessons from Ukraine on agile, modern systems to get innovation from idea to frontline deployment quickly to meet immediate evolving threats, looking to examples like BRAVE1. The discussion will also dive into the role of NATO partnerships around defence procurement, the UK's role in working with Europe in a cohesive manner to leverage innovation from different countries for mutual defence, and how we can support a joined up approach to European defence which plays to the strengths of different nations/ecosystems and avoids duplication or inefficiencies.
This panel will explore the complexities of defence investment from a venture capital and industry perspective. The discussion will dive into a day in the life of a defence-focused startup, how to improve market conditions, and the role of innovation "scouts" like DASA in bridging the gap between private and public sector investment. Key questions include:
- Who carries the risk burden?
- How do you share and manage risk effectively?
- How do you unlock incentives for industry and investors, particularly for earlier stage businesses?
- How do you create the conditions for early stage defence startups to scale at pace?
- UK Defence Industrial Strategy Response: how do we actually make the UK the best place to start an innovative defence tech company?
Showcasing success stories of innovators from both the startup ecosystem and within MOD delivering impact across Defence.
In this closing session, we will revisit two key themes from the day, drawing together insights and reflections from across the room. Participants will have the chance to share experiences, test ideas, and connect discussions from earlier sessions. The aim is to turn individual observations into collective understanding — through conversation, collaboration, and synthesis.
