Deltek
Location
2291 Wood Oak Drive, Herndon, VA
Website
More Events
Events We Are Sponsoring
Collaborating on Actionable Solutions for Our Nation's Pacing Threats:
From Mission Need to Fielded Capability: Speed, Scale, and Operational Advantage
The Eastern Defense Summit is the premier defense-focused event on the East Coast, bringing together more than 2,300 leaders from government, military, academia, and industry to address the challenges shaping the future of national defense.
As strategic competition intensifies and the character of warfare continues to evolve, maintaining military advantage requires more than innovation alone. The United States must be able to identify operational needs, accelerate acquisition, strengthen industrial capacity, and deliver capabilities to the warfighter at the speed required to meet emerging threats.
Held in Charleston, South Carolina—a strategic hub for military operations, information warfare, logistics, maritime operations, cybersecurity, and defense innovation—the Eastern Defense Summit provides a forum where operational requirements, acquisition priorities, technological advancement, and industrial capability converge. Home to Joint Base Charleston, Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic, Coast Guard commands, and a robust defense industrial base, the region offers a unique environment for collaboration across the defense ecosystem.
The 2026 Summit theme, "Collaborating on Actionable Solutions for Our Nation's Pacing Threats: From Mission Need to Fielded Capability: Speed, Scale, and Operational Advantage" reflects the urgency of translating mission requirements into operational capability. Discussions will focus on the policies, partnerships, acquisition strategies, industrial capacity, and emerging technologies needed to move solutions from concept to deployment faster and at greater scale.
Through keynote presentations, executive panels, technical discussions, exhibits, demonstrations, and collaborative exchanges, attendees will explore topics including the changing character of war, acquisition reform, artificial intelligence and autonomy, supply chain resilience, maritime power, industrial base capacity, and the infrastructure required to support future force readiness.
The Eastern Defense Summit is more than a conference—it is a venue for meaningful dialogue and practical collaboration among those responsible for equipping and sustaining the Joint Force. By bringing together decision-makers from across government, military, academia, and industry, the Summit helps bridge the gap between mission need and fielded capability while fostering the partnerships necessary to maintain speed, scale, and operational advantage.
The 2026 Eastern Defense Summit will be held in person at the Charleston Area Convention Center in North Charleston, South Carolina—a location where military, government, academia, and industry come together to support the nation's defense mission.
From Mission Need to Fielded Capability: Speed, Scale, and Operational Advantage
The Eastern Defense Summit is the premier defense-focused event on the East Coast, bringing together more than 2,300 leaders from government, military, academia, and industry to address the challenges shaping the future of national defense.
As strategic competition intensifies and the character of warfare continues to evolve, maintaining military advantage requires more than innovation alone. The United States must be able to identify operational needs, accelerate acquisition, strengthen industrial capacity, and deliver capabilities to the warfighter at the speed required to meet emerging threats.
Held in Charleston, South Carolina—a strategic hub for military operations, information warfare, logistics, maritime operations, cybersecurity, and defense innovation—the Eastern Defense Summit provides a forum where operational requirements, acquisition priorities, technological advancement, and industrial capability converge. Home to Joint Base Charleston, Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic, Coast Guard commands, and a robust defense industrial base, the region offers a unique environment for collaboration across the defense ecosystem.
The 2026 Summit theme, "Collaborating on Actionable Solutions for Our Nation's Pacing Threats: From Mission Need to Fielded Capability: Speed, Scale, and Operational Advantage" reflects the urgency of translating mission requirements into operational capability. Discussions will focus on the policies, partnerships, acquisition strategies, industrial capacity, and emerging technologies needed to move solutions from concept to deployment faster and at greater scale.
Through keynote presentations, executive panels, technical discussions, exhibits, demonstrations, and collaborative exchanges, attendees will explore topics including the changing character of war, acquisition reform, artificial intelligence and autonomy, supply chain resilience, maritime power, industrial base capacity, and the infrastructure required to support future force readiness.
The Eastern Defense Summit is more than a conference—it is a venue for meaningful dialogue and practical collaboration among those responsible for equipping and sustaining the Joint Force. By bringing together decision-makers from across government, military, academia, and industry, the Summit helps bridge the gap between mission need and fielded capability while fostering the partnerships necessary to maintain speed, scale, and operational advantage.
The 2026 Eastern Defense Summit will be held in person at the Charleston Area Convention Center in North Charleston, South Carolina—a location where military, government, academia, and industry come together to support the nation's defense mission.