National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA)

The intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and Modeling and Simulation (M&S) has proven to be a critical element in securing our nation’s future. As we face new challenges around the world and within our borders, our nation’s resilience has been a topic of conversation both in Washington, within our Defense community, and across the nation’s businesses and academic institutions. The 2026 Congressional M&S Leadership Summit will bring together thought leaders to explore resilience – what that means for our national defense, for the safety and security of our citizens, for our nation’s healthcare system, and for our critical national infrastructure. This summit will explore this intersection of AI and M&S within the context of national resilience and the role of federal policy, legislation and regulation.

The M&S Leadership Summit is an event sponsored by the National Training and Simulation Association (NTSA) in support of the Modeling and Simulation Congressional Caucus. The purpose of the event is to bring the M&S Community of Practice together to discuss important issues related to M&S, and to try to reach consensus on one or two specific, actionable initiatives for the Congressional M&S Caucus to take for action.

The Expeditionary Warfare Division is the focal point and coordinating element within NDIA for the identification, study and resolution of expeditionary warfare and force protection issues in the littoral regions of the world, affecting the strength of the national defense industrial base and the armed services. 

The objectives of the Expeditionary Warfare Division are to:

• Develop and foster industry/Defense Department communications on expeditionary warfare issues, including missions, systems, technologies, training and manpower resources.
• Develop and foster industry understanding of DoD expeditionary warfare capabilities, current and emerging requirements, issues and future plans.
• Develop and foster DoD understanding of expeditionary warfare capabilities, resources and technologies available within industry.
• Develop and foster effective and efficient use of industrial capabilities in meeting DoD current and future requirements.
• Conduct an annual expeditionary warfare conference and other forums, as appropriate, for the exchange of information, ideas and issues of mutual interest to the military services and industry.
• Provide a vehicle for broad-based industrial input to DoD concerns on expeditionary warfare matters.

Held annually, TSIS provides industry an opportunity to network and interact with procurement officials for training and simulation products and services from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. Industry looks for insight on near-term and long-term opportunities, to include Q&A sessions and panel discussions. Acquisition strategies, timing, and funding levels are also provided during the briefs.

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has expanded their emphasis on the application of systems engineering approaches to ‘missions’.  Mission Engineering (ME) is “an interdisciplinary approach and process encompassing the entire technical effort to analyze, design, and integrate current and emerging operational needs and capabilities to achieve desired mission outcomes”.  This presentation outlines the current mission engineering methodology, describes how it is currently being applied, and explores the role of T&E in the ME process.

Mission engineering is applying systems engineering to missions – that is, engineering a system of systems, (including organizations, people and technical systems) to provide desired impact on mission or capability outcomes.  Traditionally, systems of systems engineering focused on designing systems or systems of systems to achieve specified technical performance.  Mission engineering goes one step further to assess whether the system of systems, when deployed in a realistic user environment, achieves the user mission or capability objectives.  

Mission engineering applies digital model-based engineering approaches to describe the sets of activities in the form of ‘mission threads’ (or activity models) needed to execute the mission and then adds information on players and systems used to implement these activities in the form of ‘mission engineering threads.’ These digital ‘mission models’ are then implemented in operational simulations to assess how well they achieve user capability objectives. Gaps are identified and models are updated to reflect proposed changes, including reorientation of systems and insertion of new candidate solutions and which are assessed relative to changes in overall mission effectiveness.  

As stated in the US DoD Mission Engineering Guide (MEG 2.0), mission engineering uses systems and SoS in an operational mission context to inform stakeholders about building the right things, not just building things right, by guiding capability maturation to address warfighter mission needs.

This summer, top-notch Modeling & Simulation (M&S) demonstrations from around the country will be brought to the nation’s capital at the Capitol Hill M&S Expo 2026. The National Training and Simulation Association (NTSA) sponsors this annual expo in support of the Congressional Modeling and Simulation Caucus. The theme for 2026 is The Power of Modeling and Simulation Technologies: Integrating Artificial Intelligence to Enhance our National Security. The event will provide information and demonstrations highlighting ways that modeling and simulation can support our nation’s resilience across all domains to include healthcare, disaster response, infrastructure, transportation, emergency management, and defense.

The co-chairs of the Congressional Modeling and Simulation Caucus, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI), Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL), and Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL) are invited to make remarks during the exhibit along with other members of the Caucus.

The pace of modern conflict is accelerating. New technologies, joint operations, and increasingly contested environments are forcing militaries to adapt faster than ever before. Yet many organizations remain constrained by legacy communication systems that cannot keep up with the speed and complexity of today’s battlefield.

In this discussion, Patrick Vaughn and Edwin Carrasquillo of REDCOM examine the growing gap between how quickly the operational landscape is evolving and how prepared forces are to respond. They explore why reliable, interoperable tactical communications remain the foundation of mission success, especially across joint and coalition operations.

Drawing on REDCOM’s work with NATO partners and the development of solutions like REDCOM STRIKE, they highlight how modern, flexible communication platforms are enabling forces to operate seamlessly across networks, devices, and domains. The conversation focuses on what needs to change, what’s already working, and how defense organizations can better prepare for the realities of the modern fight.

• Evidence-First Analysis: Learn to separate data analysis from causal analysis, using disciplined Lines of Inquiry to guard against confirmation bias and premature conclusions before building cause-and-effect logic.
• Systems Thinking: Apply defense-in-depth analysis and systems theory to identify where organizational defenses failed and what systemic conditions made failure inevitable—moving beyond surface-level "human error" to address root causes.
• Human & Organizational Performance Integration: Evaluate culture, leadership, and organizational conditions as first-class causal factors, not afterthoughts, treating frontline behaviors as symptoms of upstream conditions.
• AI-Enhanced Efficiency: Leverage artificial intelligence to accelerate data analysis and pattern recognition in Phase 1, while maintaining human-led causal analysis in Phase 2 to preserve the integrity of subject matter expertise.
• Scalable Methodology: Master a graded approach that applies the same framework to everyday 2-4 hour apparent cause evaluations and multi-week root cause investigations of complex, recurring problems.
• Sustainable Corrective Actions: Design high-leverage corrective and preventive actions using the hierarchy of hazard controls and Lean mistake-proofing principles—strategies proven to prevent recurrence.

• Evidence-First Analysis: Learn to separate data analysis from causal analysis, using disciplined Lines of Inquiry to guard against confirmation bias and premature conclusions before building cause-and-effect logic.

• Systems Thinking: Apply defense-in-depth analysis and systems theory to identify where organizational defenses failed and what systemic conditions made failure inevitable—moving beyond surface-level "human error" to address root causes.

• Human & Organizational Performance Integration: Evaluate culture, leadership, and organizational conditions as first-class causal factors, not afterthoughts, treating frontline behaviors as symptoms of upstream conditions.

• AI-Enhanced Efficiency: Leverage artificial intelligence to accelerate data analysis and pattern recognition in Phase 1, while maintaining human-led causal analysis in Phase 2 to preserve the integrity of subject matter expertise.

• Scalable Methodology: Master a graded approach that applies the same framework to everyday 2-4 hour apparent cause evaluations and multi-week root cause investigations of complex, recurring problems.

• Sustainable Corrective Actions: Design high-leverage corrective and preventive actions using the hierarchy of hazard controls and Lean mistake-proofing principles—strategies proven to prevent recurrence.

• DMAIC Integration: Slot the BlueDragon framework into the Analyze phase of any DMAIC project—sharpening the problem definition carried from Define, leveraging the data developed in Measure, and feeding durable, evidence-based corrective actions into Improve and Control.