AI In
Defence
Summit
A one-day summit for the people who build, buy, fund and regulate Europe's defence AI, on how Europe fields AI it builds and controls.
Every registration is reviewed before it is confirmed.
1,000
Brussels, BE
March 1, 2027
Partners
The Summit is made possible through the support of organisations committed to shaping the future of AI in defence.
For
Meet buyers and investors
Procurement officials, armed forces and defence investors attend. Three Startup Awards finalists pitch to the full audience.
Meet Europe's defence AI founders
Founders building for European defence attend, and the European Commission sets out where defence money goes next.
Meet institutions and start-ups
Present your capabilities to defence institutions and meet start-ups as potential partners.
Tell industry what you need
Set out your priorities to the companies building Europe's defence AI, and hear speakers with first-hand experience of the war in Ukraine. Free for NATO, EU defence bodies and ministries of defence.
A day with Europe's defence policymakers
Officials, industry leaders and investors working on European defence and technology policy speak and attend.
Confirmed Speakers
Andrius Kubilius
Commissioner for Defence and Space
European Commission
Benedetta Berti
Secretary General
NATO Parliamentary Assembly
Guillaume de La Brosse
Head of Unit DG DEFIS
European Commission
Ajay Chakravarthy
Chief AI Officer
Thales UK
Iwona Anna Biernat
COO
Project Europe · EU-INC
Joonas Vainumäe
Chief of AI & Autonomy
Estonian Defence Forces
Eva Sula
Defence Strategic Advisor
The Alphen Group
Benjamin Wolba
Founder
European Defense Tech Hub (EDTH)
Sviat Hnizdovskyi
Founder & CEO
OpenMinds
Sam Wilkin
Editor & Co-founder
The Sentinel
Eleftherios Andreadis
Senior Policy Officer for Industry Engagement
European Defence Agency
Marijn Markus
Master of ceremonies for the day. Marijn spoke at the 2026 edition and has spent more than a decade leading AI work, with a particular interest in open-source intelligence, sensors and drones.
Andriy Kolodyuk
Co-founder
Jerome Leclanche
Co-founder
Now
Europe needs defence AI it controls
Europe faces drones over airports and military sites, sabotage of critical infrastructure and coordinated disinformation. AI is used to detect and answer these threats, and much of it is built outside Europe.
The people who build, buy, fund and regulate defence AI work in separate countries and institutions.
The summit puts them in one room in Brussels.
Learn from Ukraine, first-hand
Under full-scale invasion, Ukraine has developed autonomy, sensing and electronic-warfare capabilities in the field. Speakers with first-hand experience of that war share the main programme with European defence policy officials. There is no separate Ukraine track.
Agenda
The shape of the day
Four plenary sessions. Three of them open a strand that runs all afternoon.
Opening KeynoteDG DEFIS
EU SovereigntyDisinformation & Hybrid Attacks on Europe
Hybrid WarfareLessons from the Battlefield: Ukrainian frontlines
Autonomy & HardwareThe New Economics of War
Capital & PolicyThree strands run in parallel, four sessions each.
Capital & Policy
How European defence AI gets funded and bought: procurement, policy, startups and investment.
Hybrid Warfare
Disinformation, cyber operations, and attacks on critical infrastructure.
Autonomy & Hardware
Autonomous systems, the hardware they run on, and the sensors that find them.
Startup Awards: presentations & prizes
Closing Keynote
Networking drinks
Private VIP networking reception
Further sessions and speakers will be announced as they are confirmed. View the complete agenda →
Record
The 2026 Summit
Opened by Belgian Minister of Defence Theo Francken, with a keynote from European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius.
- Speakers
- 53
- Start-ups pitched
- 11
- 2026, Brussels
- 2 Feb
Latest
News
Cameras, Lanyards and QR Codes: How Privacy Works at the Summit
2 min read
Disinformation and Hybrid Warfare Conferences and Events in Europe 2027: The Complete Guide
5 min read
Defence Tech Startup Funding in Europe: PESCO, EDF, and Procurement Pathways
15 min read
European Defence AI Sovereignty vs. US and Chinese Capability
11 min read
European Sovereign AI Defence: Why 2027 Changes Everything
12 min readYou Arrive
Common
questions
Eligibility, cost, session rules, substitutions and networking. Anything else, email us.
Contact
info@aidefencesummit.euSQUARE Brussels, in central Brussels.