RUSI Military Technology Conference 2026

Registration will take place between 09:00 and 09:30. Please take your seat at least 5 minutes before the start of the conference.

Opening remarks wil be given by Noah Sylvia, Research Fellow, RUSI 

The core challenge in much of British and European targeting capability development is how to orchestrate the integration of systems, workflows, and data flows to enable cohesive operations. This session will examine the UK’s evolving targeting architectures and situate it against divergent allied approaches to facilitating large-scale digitalised targeting, asking where British choices align with partners, where they diverge, and what that means for interoperability, lock-in, and industry collaboration.

Tea, coffee and refreshments will be available for conference delegates.

Compute has emerged in recent conflicts as both a decisive enabler and a vulnerable target, reshaping assumptions about where processing power should sit and how it should be defended. This session will explore how compute architectures shape what a military can do across echelons and classifications, and will interrogate the UK's choices against the competing demands of resilience, sovereignty, and interoperability with allies.

 

There will be a 5 minute break between sessions.

This session will showcase a practical example of how interoperability can be embedded from the earliest stages of capability development rather than retrofitted after the fact.

Lunch will be provided for conference degelates.

Space underpins an ever-widening range of military functions, from PNT and communications to ISR, yet the assets and services the UK depends on sit across a complex mix of sovereign, allied, and commercial providers. This session will assess the state of UK space capabilities today and probe the harder strategic choices ahead: what must be held sovereign, what can be shared with allies, and how to manage commercial dependence.

There will be a break of 5 minutes between sessions.

The keys to successful development, deployment and sustainment of technologies in defence are rarely technical, hinging instead upon non-technical enablers across the capability lifecycle. This session will focus on these critical yet underappreciated enablers, asking whether the UK defence sector has the skills and expertise, contracting and regulatory frameworks, and institutional culture to deliver the Integrated Force.

Speaker to be announced

Conference delegates are invited to attend a networking and drinks reception at the end of the conference.