AFA Air, Space and Cyber Conference 2026

About the Air, Space & Cyber Conference

Air, Space & Cyber is AFA’s major annual professional-development conference for the United States air and space forces and the organisations that support them. The 2026 programme combines senior-leader addresses, policy and operational panels, force-and-family discussions and a multi-hall technology exposition. The official agenda links air and space dominance with readiness, acquisition, industrial capacity, people and the ability to sustain forces against current and future threats.

Unlike a technical research conference, Air, Space & Cyber is structured around strategic requirements, service priorities and engagement between military, government and industry. Sessions range from air superiority and Space Force combat capability to stockpiles, acquisition and military-community issues. Exhibitors present air, space and cyber technologies during scheduled hall hours, while selected ballroom content is also streamed for virtual registrants. This mixture makes the conference useful for understanding how operational needs, policy choices and supplier capabilities are being discussed within the AFA community. It also helps attendees distinguish announced service priorities from individual suppliers’ commercial positioning.

Event history and organiser

The Air & Space Forces Association organises Air, Space & Cyber as a recurring national conference and maintains an archive of full sessions and transcripts from earlier editions. AFA is an independent membership organisation focused on supporting the United States Air Force, Space Force, airmen, guardians and their families. The conference has developed as one of its main settings for professional military education and dialogue with defence industry. That lineage explains why the programme combines service leadership, operational questions, workforce and family topics, and a technology exposition rather than concentrating on a single engineering discipline. The 2026 edition continues at National Harbor and uses the theme “Advancing Air & Space Dominance: An Urgent Call to Build and Sustain the Forces.” AFA is the organiser; participating service leaders, government speakers, exhibitors and sponsors should not be described as co-organisers unless the official material gives them that role.

Topics and themes

The 2026 agenda connects operational priorities with the people, procurement and industrial capacity needed to deliver airpower and spacepower.

• Airpower and force design: sessions examine air superiority, weapons, readiness and how the Air Force prepares capabilities for future conflict.
• Spacepower and combat capability: Space Force leadership and operational commands discuss how space capabilities support missions across geographic theatres.
• Acquisition and industrial capacity: panels connect emerging requirements with stockpiles, production, suppliers, software and the pace of fielding technology.
• Cyber and digital capability: the technology exposition and conference discussions place secure software, networks and data within modern force operations.
• People, families and professional development: dedicated sessions recognise that talent, military families and institutional culture affect readiness and retention.
• Defence technology exposition: scheduled exhibit-hall periods let registered participants explore products and speak with participating companies under the conference’s access rules.

Who should attend?

The core audience includes active-duty, Guard and Reserve personnel, Space Force guardians, Air Force airmen, government civilians and cadets seeking professional military development. Defence, aerospace, space and cyber companies attend to understand emerging requirements and present relevant technologies through the exposition. Policy researchers, acquisition specialists, military-family organisations and journalists may also find specific agenda tracks useful. The event is not a general public airshow and should not be treated as an open consumer exhibition. Industry visitors need the appropriate registration, while exhibitors and sponsors use separate commercial routes. Virtual access is useful for people who primarily want streamed main-ballroom sessions rather than the full in-person programme and exhibit halls.

Practical information

The conference is at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. AFA publishes hotel, shuttle, Metro and rail guidance on the event site.

Review the current agenda, registration inclusions, attire guidance, guest-ticket conditions and evening reception rules carefully. Virtual participants should also note the published period for accessing streamed and archived conference sessions.