National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA)

Members are invited to join the NDIA Science & Engineering Technology (S&ET) Division for our next meeting on April 8, 2026 from 9:00 - 10:00 am.

This is a virtual meeting held via a ZoomGov link. Virtual access will be sent out to registered attendees approximately 24 hours in advance.

NOTE: This event is closed to press/media.

Accelerating Mission Impact: Industry and Small Business’ Role in the Software Acquisition Pathway

Register for this webinar on April 9^th from 2:30 – 4:00 pm. The Department of War’s Software Acquisition Pathway is designed to enable rapid and iterative delivery of software-intensive capabilities by leveraging industry best practices and modern software development approaches.  To achieve this vision requires collaboration across the industrial base, from innovative small businesses to large industry partners, who each have an important role.   Join our esteemed panelists as they share their insights into how industry and small businesses can work together to accelerate mission impact by getting capability to the warfighter quickly.

Join members of the community at 7:00 am MT on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, for the Space Division Breakfast.

Space is limited, so register today.

Do not miss the opportunity to interface with the aerospace industry leaders and partners who directly support the Space program. 

NOTE: This event is closed to the press and operates under Chatham House Rules.

Join the NDIA Procurement Division on April 14, 2026, for its quarterly meeting, bringing together acquisition and procurement professionals from across the defense indstry. This program will feature keynote speakers and panel discussions addressing key challenges and priorities shaping today’s procurement landscape. This meeting also provides an opportunity for the Division’s committees to conduct business and engage with their members. Committees include: Contract and Acquisition Management and Legal Committee, Government Property Committee, and Contract Finance Committee.

The Mastering the Art of Business Development® Workshop is an educational and professional development program which focuses on the thinking, process and discipline required for professional Business Development. This 2-day workshop fosters participants’ understanding of the core competencies required for success in the Business Development role.

Business Development is primarily a relationship development and intelligence gathering process. Participants will learn how to leverage the principles of behavioral psychology to identify valid prospects and pipeline opportunities, effectively qualify them and develop win-win business relationships for their organizations, their clients and themselves.

This interactive, participant-centered workshop introduces the MBDi Business Development Process®, with its early shaping Opportunity Identification & Qualification component and the MBDi HUMINT® Client Engagement Process. This Client Engagement Process guides participants through a series of planning phases and client engagement steps designed to change how participants think, behave and engage prospects and clients within their Business Development role.

Through the instructor’s use of Socratic teaching techniques, participants will acquire the knowledge, thinking, skills and discipline required to proactively engage clients from a Strategic Hunting, Organic Farming or Program Management perspective. Participants have described this workshop as a career-transforming experience.

During this interactive, participant-centered workshop, participants will:

• Explore the concepts of self-identity and role-identity and how to differentiate between goals and purpose in professional and personal life.
• Learn how to deal with rejection, risk-taking and failure and gain a better understanding of the importance of leadership, integrity and character in developing business.
• Acquire a better understanding of the psychology of human behavior and how it applies to their own self-knowledge and understanding of others.
• Review the fundamentals of the MBDi Business Development Process and how the rules of the relationship are established.
• Learn how to control the client interview process and gain valuable insights into how and why people buy.
• Learn a proven 4 phase Client Engagement Process that produces high value, human intelligence that drives Opportunity Identification & Qualification (OI&Q)i.
• Learn account planning, intelligence gathering, call planning and script development with role playing of specific client calls.
• Experience how individuals’ bond and position in different roles and at different levels within an organization
• Understand how to control the decision-making process in the procurement cycle and master the skills needed for prospecting, qualifying and closing business.
• Learn how to overcome the psychological limitations and barriers implicit in developing business and how to successfully integrate these processes and skills into the daily practice of client engagement.

The NDIA Cross-Division Collaboration Event brings together government leaders, industry partners, and NDIA division leadership to align on a shared imperative: accelerating the delivery of operational capability at speed and scale. A key focus of the event is capturing insights from both Government and Industry stakeholders to inform NDIA’s 2026 priorities, identify opportunities for cross-division collaboration, and shape future events, guidance, and initiatives that align with the need to accelerate delivery as defined in the Department of War Acquisition Transformation Strategy.

The session will conclude with a collaborative workshop, where NDIA Division leaders and participants will synthesize panel insights into a cross-division roadmap, highlighting near-term collaboration opportunities and longer-term areas where NDIA can help enable faster, more integrated delivery.

Proposed Agenda for Reference
Theme: Delivering at Speed

• 8:00 – 8:10 Opening 
• 8:10 – 9:30 Government Leadership Panel Setting the Strategic Context: Delivering Capability at Speed
• 9:30 – 9:45 Break
• 9:45 – 11:00 Industry Leadership Panel Agility, Responsiveness, and Speed at Scale
• 11:00 – 11:15 Break
• 11:15 – 11:30 Discussion: What NDIA heard from Stakeholders on their priorities
• 11:30 – 12:00 Division Leads Share 2026 Plans (Quad Chart and Collaboration Chart)
• 12:00 – 12:30 Lunch (working lunch/provided)
• 12:30 – 2:00 Division Leads Share 2026 Continued
• 2:00– 3:30 Whole group workshop. 
• Round table discussions and create cross division roadmap
• 3:30 – 3:45 Break
• 3:45 – 5:00 Feedback, and Next Steps

Press: This event is not open to Press

Foreign Nationals: This event is not open to Foreign Nationals

This discussion provides an update on the CBRN threats and challenges facing our Nation, presented by representatives from the Department of Defense’s Chemical and Biological Defense Program.

Press: This event is not open to Press

Foreign Nationals: This event is not open to Foreign Nationals

Join senior Air Force leaders and industry decision-makers in Dayton, Ohio, on 22 April for a full day of strategic insight, direct engagement, and actionable updates that shape upcoming requirements and procurement priorities. STCF is one of the few venues where industry has focused access to Air Force procurement officials responsible for training and simulation products and services.

Early registration rates are available through 10 April — secure your spot now!

AI systems can now write code, pass bar exams, and reason through complex problems. Does this mean we are on the doorstep of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)? If so, should we be excited, terrified, or something else? 

This talk offers a grounded perspective on AI. It starts with the capabilities and limitations of current models, then defines two terms that are commonly used but rarely with precision: AGI and Superintelligence. From there, it explores the real implications of both and examines the strongest cases for and against two key claims: that AGI is imminent, and that scaling current models is a viable path to get there.

This talk is for practitioners and leaders who want to understand the landscape clearly, think critically about where things are headed, and make better decisions about how to leverage AI today. 

Please join NDIA New England for our 9th annual Cyber event! This day-long program, our Chapter’s signature event is dedicated to fostering dialogue on cybersecurity and compliance concerns impacting our members in the Defense Industrial Base. We are preparing an exciting agenda with the theme of “Implementing and Operationalizing CMMC“. With CMMC now fully in effect, organizations are seeking practical strategies for certification and operationalization. This year’s agenda brings together leading experts to address the technical, operational, and financial aspects of CMMC. Last year’s event drew over 300 attendees and sponsors, and we’re keeping it in-person only to maximize networking opportunities. We hope you can join us!

Capture and business development in government contracting are changing faster than most teams realize.

AI is no longer just a tool for drafting content—it’s reshaping how GovCon teams find opportunities, evaluate fit, identify teaming partners, and build capture strategies that actually increase probability of win. Capabilities that were impossible just a few years ago—semantic opportunity discovery, instant RFP triage, and data-driven teaming alignment—are quickly becoming competitive advantages.

In this candid panel discussion, experienced capture and business development leaders will explore how AI is changing the front end of the GovCon lifecycle. The conversation will focus on practical workflows, decision-making shifts, and lessons learned from real-world use—without sales pitches or product demos.

Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of what’s now possible, how leading teams are adapting, and what capture and BD leaders should be rethinking today to stay competitive tomorrow.

The goal of the DAFMSA Summit is to gather Air Force and Space Force modeling, simulation, and analytics (MS&A) experts to learn about new MS&A initiatives and techniques, network across military services and with industry experts, and to hear our technological leaders’ perspectives on how MS&A can transition more training from the real world to digital. The 2026 Summit will provide a forum for shared information, ideas, and connection of MS&A professionals across the DoW, industry, academia, and international partners. The three-day summit agenda includes:

• Eminent Keynote Speakers from Military, Government, and Industry Leaders
• Distinguished Panel Discussions and Q&A sessions
• Track Session Presentation Focus Areas
• VIP Tour for Distinguished Visitors
• MS&A Industry Exhibition Hall
• Classified MS&A Briefing Sessions

The NDIA Air Combat Survivability Division will host a 2-day workshop on Multi-Systems Aircraft Combat Survivability at the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, May 5-6, 2026. While historically, the fundamentals of aircraft combat survivability focused on evaluating a single aircraft’s survivability versus a single threat, the discipline must now expand. The United States is developing new aircraft which bring the ability to cooperate with other air assets, including Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), to fight in the expected threat environment in 2030 and beyond. CCA are uncrewed, autonomous, drones that are designed to fly alongside crewed aircraft costing significantly less and providing greater sensor reach, delivery of weapons at increased ranges, and enhanced protection of the crew controlling the CCA. Thus, survivability analyses must also evolve to include the contribution of these off-board systems both to the survivability of the crewed aircraft-CCA systems and collectively to the entire air battleforce. 

The goal of this workshop is to review the current state of the U.S. Defense Industrial Base to assess multi-systems aircraft survivability, and identify pathways needed to further develop improved analytical methods. This event welcomes researchers and testers from the Department of War, Services, academia, and industry to collectively build a multi-faceted perspective on multi-systems survivability. The workshop will establish what analytical methods are currently available, consider how existing analytical methods might be limited for the upcoming needs, and highlight investments which need to be made in the near term, in order to include the effects of nascent collaborative combat tactics in the analysis of multi-system survivability. 

The workshop will be held at the SECRET//NOFORN level to allow discussion of details relevant to current acquisition programs.