AI, Autonomy and the Future Battlespace: Where Is UK Investment Really Heading? - 11:00 - 11:35
Industry, MOD and academic panellists debate realistic timelines for AI-enabled and autonomous systems entering UK service — and where the Defence Investment Plan's £5bn+ drone and autonomy budget and ~£2bn Digital Targeting Web will be spent next.
Quantum, Sensors and Smart Materials: The Technologies Quietly Reshaping Defence - 11.40 - 12.05
A practical overview of less-publicised but high-impact technology areas — quantum sensing, smart materials and advanced sensors — and what their near-term funding and adoption pathways look like for UK suppliers.
De-Risking Innovation Adoption: Bridging the Gap Between Industry R&D and MOD Procurement - 12:10 - 12:45
Senior buyers and innovators discuss why promising technologies stall in the 'valley of death' between demonstration and procurement, and what structural change — backed by RAID and the wider innovation budget — could close the gap.
A sponsor-led look at the Collaborative Combat Aircraft concept and the tenfold lethality ambitions driving it, setting out where airframe, systems and software suppliers can find work as the programme moves from concept toward committed funding.
Inside UKDI: How to Win Funding for Your Defence Innovation - 13.20 - 13.50
A fireside conversation with a UKDI representative on what makes a winning innovation bid, common pitfalls, and how SMEs and start-ups can position for success — drawing on UKDI's expanded role in the new SME Action Plan, its ring-fenced innovation budget, the Defence Innovation Ideas Marketplace and the Regional Defence and Security Clusters it now administers across the UK.
Beyond the Trial: Scaling Uncrewed Systems from Swindon to the Frontline - 13.55 - 14.20
With the Defence Uncrewed Systems Centre in Swindon now operational, this session looks at what it takes to move autonomous systems out of taskforce pilots and into programmes of record, backed by more than £5bn of committed investment.
Commanding the Swarm: Crewed-Uncrewed Teaming and the Common Combat Vessel - 14.25 - 14.50
A sponsor-led session on how the Hybrid Navy's new Common Combat Vessel programme is designed around crewed-uncrewed teaming, part of the more than £5bn committed to autonomous systems, and what that means for suppliers building sensors, autonomy stacks and mission systems.
The 10% Question: Winning a Share of Defence's Novel Technology Budget - 14:55 - 15:20
Defence now spends over 10% of its annual Equipment Programme budget — rising to 16% by FY29/30 — on novel technologies spanning AI, autonomy, quantum and directed energy weapons; this session sets out how smaller and newer entrants can find a route into that budget line.
Innovation Diplomacy: How AUKUS and European Partnerships Are Reshaping Technology Access - 11.00 - 11.30
A fireside conversation on how AUKUS Pillar II and emerging European technology partnerships — alongside the £8bn+ GCAP programme — are changing which innovations the UK can access, share and co-develop.
Taskforce RAID and Project FRONTIER: Tracking MOD's AI Investment Fund - 11.35 - 12.00
A sponsor-led session tracking how Taskforce RAID and Project FRONTIER are channelling MOD's AI investment fund — including the £100m Rapid AI Delivery Taskforce — into fielded capability, and where industry can plug in.
Ethics, Assurance and Trust: Can Autonomous Systems Earn Their Place in Service? - 12.05 - 12.40
A cross-disciplinary panel on the ethical, legal and assurance frameworks needed before autonomous and AI-enabled systems can be trusted with greater operational responsibility.
Quantum-Ready: Preparing Supply Chains for the Next Computing Era - 12.45 - 13.10
As defence's novel technology budget grows to more than 10% of the Equipment Programme, this session looks at what quantum-readiness means for supply chains still working out where computing, sensing and secure communications investment will land.
Sovereign AI Capability: Why the UK Can't Simply Buy Its Way to an Edge - 13.15 - 13.40
Examining the case for sovereign AI and data capability within UK defence — backed by the £100m Rapid AI Delivery Taskforce and the ~£2bn Digital Targeting Web — the risks of over-reliance on foreign platforms, and what 'control of the stack' really means in practice.
Demystifying UKDI: A Practical Guide to Funding, Frameworks and First Contracts - 13.45 - 14.10
UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) reached full operating capability in mid-2026 with a ring-fenced £400m annual budget; this session is a practical guide to its funding routes, frameworks and how innovators can land a first contract.
From Startup to Sovereign Supplier: Chasing the Next Defence Unicorn - 14.15 - 14.40
A look at how UK defence start-ups scale from first contract to sovereign supplier status, drawing on the growing pipeline of investment chasing dual-use technology and what founders need to do to become genuinely investable — including named routes highlighted in the SME Action Plan such as Commercial X's Defence Unicorn Fund and Dynamic Marketplace.
Collaborative Innovation: Building Multinational Technology Programmes That Actually Deliver - 14.45 - 15.20
Panellists from UK and allied innovation organisations discuss the practicalities of joint technology programmes such as GCAP (£8bn+ over four years, already supporting 4,500 UK jobs), IP sharing, and aligning procurement cycles across nations.
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