CDAO Defence UK schedule

• How the Capability Coalition is driving coherence, integration, and digital enablement across Army force elements
• Leveraging data, architectures, and emerging technologies to accelerate readiness and operational advantage
• Strengthening joint and pan-Defence collaboration to align capability development with future threat environments
• Building a more adaptable, interoperable Army through experimentation, accelerated delivery, and partner engagement

• The evolving role of cyber, information, and specialist operations in delivering strategic and operational advantage.
• Integrating data, digital, and specialist capabilities to strengthen resilience and decision superiority across Defence.
• Operating effectively in contested, congested, and competitive environments below and above the threshold of conflict.
• Building a future-ready force through integration, innovation, and trusted partnerships across government and allies.

• How workforce transformation underpins Defence’s digital and data strategy
• Leveraging data-driven insights to build a modern, agile, and adaptable defence workforce
• Integrating digital tools and HR systems to enhance efficiency and operational readiness
• Fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement across Defence

• Enabling faster adoption of disruptive technologies across Defence through agile collaboration models
• Lessons from venture and industry ecosystems to accelerate capability delivery
• Aligning innovation outcomes with operational needs and strategic priorities
• Building effective partnerships between government, start-ups, and established industry players

• Advancing Germany’s defence digital transformation through modernization of IT, cyber, and information capabilities under the Cyber and Information Domain Service.
• Enhancing secure and resilient networks to enable agile, interoperable operations with NATO and EU allies.
• Driving integrated cyber defence initiatives that align strategy, governance, and operational readiness across the armed forces.
• Leveraging emerging technologies such as AI, cloud, and automation to build long-term resilience in contested digital environments.

Goldfish Bowl Session

An interactive format designed to facilitate an open discussion.

• Advancing NATO’s Digital by Design agenda to ensure allies can operate seamlessly across domains.
• Building data-centric C2 frameworks that enhance decision speed and multinational integration.
• Harnessing emerging and disruptive technologies to strengthen multi-domain operations.
• Driving interoperability through standards, architectures, and partnerships with nations, industry, and academia.

• How global governance ecosystems are shaping norms, operational safeguards, and multilateral cooperation for mission-aligned AI
• Operational opportunities and governance risks in deploying AI across peacekeeping, humanitarian response, and multi-theatre security missions
• Building ethical, transparent, and trustworthy AI systems that align with international law and human rights standards
• Strengthening cross-sector collaboration to embed safe, interoperable, and mission-aligned AI across defence, government, and industry ecosystems

• Advancing Europe’s space ambitions through secure, resilient, and interoperable satellite and navigation systems.
• How the EU Space Programme is integrating emerging technologies to enhance situational awareness and operational decision advantage.
• Strengthening cooperation between EU institutions, member states, industry, and international partners to accelerate capability development.
• Ensuring cybersecurity, resilience, and trust in Europe’s critical space infrastructure in support of defence and security missions

• Strengthening collaboration between Defence, industry, and academia to drive research, experimentation, and technology adoption.
• The role of academic institutions like Cranfield in developing future talent, advancing critical sciences, and supporting defence modernisation.
• Building effective partnership frameworks that translate research into deployable capability at pace and scale.
• Leveraging cross-sector relationships to enhance digital skills, innovation pipelines, and long-term force readiness

• Leveraging AI to strengthen situational awareness, decision-making, and mission readiness across Defence operations.
• Ensuring responsible, transparent, and secure AI development aligned with Defence ethics, governance frameworks, and legal standards.
• Translating academic research into deployable capability through Defence–industry–academia collaboration.
• Building resilience against AI-enabled threats and shaping future Defence AI strategy.

Goldfish Bowl Session

An interactive format designed to facilitate an open discussion.

• Key operational insights from Ukraine’s defence against full-scale aggression and their implications for modern force design.
• How digital tools, data integration, and emerging technologies have shaped battlefield effectiveness and accelerated adaptation.
• Strengthening resilience, interoperability, and rapid innovation through partnerships with allies, industry, and civil society.
• Building the future force: agility, decentralized decision-making, and technology-enabled operations in high-intensity conflict.

• How workforce transformation underpins Defence’s digital and data strategy
• Leveraging data-driven insights to build a modern, agile, and adaptable defence workforce
• Integrating digital tools and HR systems to enhance efficiency and operational readiness
• Fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement across Defence
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• Advancing Germany’s defence digital transformation through modernization of IT, cyber, and information capabilities under the Cyber and Information Domain Service.
• Enhancing secure and resilient networks to enable agile, interoperable operations with NATO and EU allies.
• Driving integrated cyber defence initiatives that align strategy, governance, and operational readiness across the armed forces.
• Leveraging emerging technologies such as AI, cloud, and automation to build long-term resilience in contested digital environments.

• How can industry best support the delivery of the UK Defence Data Strategy and ensure alignment with MoD’s digital transformation priorities?
• What approaches are proving most effective in building trusted, interoperable data ecosystems across allied nations and coalition partners?
• How do companies balance the push for rapid innovation in AI and advanced analytics with the need for security, governance, and ethical oversight?
• Where can the defence sector learn most from commercial best practices in cloud adoption, platform engineering, and large-scale data management?

• Enabling faster adoption of disruptive technologies across Defence through agile collaboration models
• Lessons from venture and industry ecosystems to accelerate capability delivery
• Aligning innovation outcomes with operational needs and strategic priorities
• Building effective partnerships between government, start-ups, and established industry players

• Advancing the UK’s Defence Innovation ecosystem to accelerate capability development
• Bridging the gap between emerging technologies and operational deployment
• Strengthening collaboration across government, industry, and international partners
• Embedding innovation into Defence culture to drive agility, adaptability, and long-term advantage

• How the London Tech Bridge fosters transatlantic innovation between the U.S. Navy, Royal Navy, and industry
• Leveraging dual-use technologies to address shared defence challenges and accelerate capability delivery
• Building agile innovation ecosystems that connect start-ups, academia, and defence end-users
• Strengthening interoperability and technological advantage through collaborative experimentation and prototyping

• How SpaceWERX is shaping the innovation pipeline for space-based capabilities through rapid prototyping and commercial partnerships.
• Leveraging emerging technologies, including AI, autonomy, sensing, and resilient space architectures, to strengthen mission advantage.
• Building effective collaboration models between the U.S. Space Force, industry, and international partners to accelerate fielding.
• Ensuring resilience, scalability, and interoperability in future space systems supporting multi-domain operations

• Advancing NATO’s approach to space technology adoption for secure, interoperable operations
• Building resilience across space and cyber domains to ensure mission continuity in contested environments
• Integrating data, AI, and emerging technologies to enhance situational awareness and decision superiority
• Fostering collaboration between Allies, industry, and academia to accelerate innovation in the space domain

• Advancing Europe’s space ambitions through secure, resilient, and interoperable satellite and navigation systems.
• How the EU Space Programme is integrating emerging technologies to enhance situational awareness and operational decision advantage.
• Strengthening cooperation between EU institutions, member states, industry, and international partners to accelerate capability development.
• Ensuring cybersecurity, resilience, and trust in Europe’s critical space infrastructure in support of defence and security missions

• Key operational insights from Ukraine’s defence against full-scale aggression and their implications for modern force design.
• How digital tools, data integration, and emerging technologies have shaped battlefield effectiveness and accelerated adaptation.
• Strengthening resilience, interoperability, and rapid innovation through partnerships with allies, industry, and civil society.
• Building the future force: agility, decentralized decision-making, and technology-enabled operations in high-intensity conflict

• Strengthening collaboration between Defence, industry, and academia to drive research, experimentation, and technology adoption.
• The role of academic institutions like Cranfield in developing future talent, advancing critical sciences, and supporting defence modernisation.
• Building effective partnership frameworks that translate research into deployable capability at pace and scale.
• Leveraging cross-sector relationships to enhance digital skills, innovation pipelines, and long-term force readiness