This annual technical conference is the 45th meeting in the DASC series, organised through the IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society and co-sponsored in 2026 by AIAA. It examines digital avionics, trusted AI, autonomy, communications, navigation, certification and safety-critical air and space systems for engineers, researchers, regulators, operators, software teams and aerospace students.
About the Digital Avionics Systems Conference
The Digital Avionics Systems Conference is an annual technical meeting devoted to the electronics, software, networks and system architectures used in aircraft and spacecraft. DASC 2026 is the forty-fifth edition and asks how digital avionics can support aerospace transformation in the age of AI. The programme accepts research and application papers and pairs them with keynote presentations, plenary panels, tutorials and professional education delivered by specialists from industry, government and academia.
Its scope is broader than cockpit electronics. Published tracks cover air traffic management, integrated modular avionics, spacecraft and satellite platforms, communications and navigation, cyber security, formal verification, human factors and unmanned systems. That range lets participants follow a technology from underlying computation and data links through safety assurance and operational use. IEEE continuing education units are available for relevant professional education sessions, while the student UAS competition gives student teams a practical systems challenge alongside the conference programme. Panels also create a route for discussing contested technical questions that do not fit a conventional paper.
Event history and organisers
DASC is an established annual conference series and the Orlando meeting is its forty-fifth edition. Its longevity reflects the continuing shift from federated aircraft instruments towards integrated, software-intensive and increasingly connected avionics. The IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society is the principal professional-society home for the conference, and AIAA lists the 2026 edition as a co-sponsored conference. The technical committee reviews submissions for relevance, novelty, soundness, contribution and quality; accepted papers must be presented by an author to receive publication credit in IEEE Xplore. This combination of review, presentation and proceedings clearly distinguishes DASC from a general aerospace networking event. The 2026 theme places AI and autonomy within that established safety-critical engineering context, asking not only what new systems can do but how trusted operation, qualification, resource use and certification should be handled for future air and space vehicles.
Topics and themes
The official call for papers connects emerging AI capabilities with the established engineering disciplines needed to deploy avionics safely and reliably.
- AI, autonomy and trusted operation: contributions examine performance, resource use, qualification and safe behaviour in hostile or uncertain aerospace environments.
- Avionics platforms: integrated modular architectures, high-performance computing, spacecraft platforms and reconfigurable systems shape the processing foundation for missions.
- Communications, navigation and surveillance: satellite communications, GNSS, alternative PNT, data links and collision avoidance connect vehicles with operators and airspace.
- Cyber, software and systems engineering: modelling, verification, validation, digital certification, formal methods and DevOps address assurance across complex system lifecycles.
- Human factors and operations: interfaces, automation awareness and operational integration keep people central as avionics become more capable and more autonomous.
- Professional education and student practice: tutorials and the student UAS competition provide structured routes for applied learning beyond paper sessions.
Who should attend?
DASC is best suited to avionics engineers, aerospace software developers, systems architects and researchers working on air or space vehicle electronics. Certification authorities, safety and cyber-security specialists, air-traffic-management teams and operators can follow work that connects technical design with assurance and operational constraints. Researchers presenting peer-reviewed papers form a central audience, while practising engineers can use the panels and professional education programme to update specific skills. Students may attend the technical sessions and, where eligible, join the UAS competition or use the student registration route. Spacecraft platform, satellite communications and PNT teams should view DASC as a digital avionics conference with relevant space tracks, rather than as a broad commercial space exhibition.
View Digital Avionics Systems Conference informationPractical information
DASC 2026 is at the DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando Theme Park Resort, 10100 International Drive, Orlando. The conference hotel page lists 27 August as the group-booking cut-off.
Check registration deadlines, tutorial fees, programme times, competition access and author obligations before making travel plans. Paper presenters should verify that final files, copyright and the required author registration are complete.
Frequently asked questions
When and where is DASC 2026?
The 45th Digital Avionics Systems Conference runs from 13 to 17 September 2026 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando Theme Park Resort in Orlando, Florida, United States.
What is the main DASC 2026 theme?
DASC 2026 examines digital avionics in the age of AI for next-generation air and space vehicles, including trusted autonomy, qualification, assurance, resource use and systems integration.
What does the programme include?
The format combines reviewed technical and application papers, keynote talks, plenary panels, tutorials, professional education sessions and a student unmanned-aircraft systems competition.
Who should attend DASC?
The conference is for avionics engineers, researchers, software and systems teams, regulators, operators, human-factors specialists, cyber-security practitioners, educators, spacecraft teams and aerospace students.
How do authors participate?
Accepted-paper authors must meet the final-paper, copyright, author-registration and in-person presentation requirements. A paper not presented by an author does not receive IEEE Xplore publication credit.
What should ordinary attendees check?
Choose the correct registration category, add any separately charged tutorial, review the live programme and competition conditions, and use the official designated conference hotel link before its published accommodation booking cut-off date.