THE WORLD'S LEADING CONFERENCE BRINGING TOGETHER
THE GREATEST MINDS ACROSS COMBAT AVIATION
4-6 nOVEMBER 2025| Italy
Day Two | 6 November
8:00 am - 8:50 am
REGISTRATION AND REFRESHMENTS
8:50 am - 9:00 am
CHAIRMEN’S OPENING REMARKS
General (Ret.) Frank Gorenc -
Former Commander,
USAFE/AFAFRICA
Lieutenant General (Ret'd) Klaus-Peter Stieglitz - Former Commander, German Air Force
READINESS & CAPABILITIES TO OPERATE IN AUSTERE AND DISPERSED ENVIRONMENTS
9:00 am - 9:30 am
KEYNOTE BRIEFING: BUILDING ON F-35 FOR FUTURE ITALIAN AIR FORCE CAPABILITIES
Lieutenant General Luca Goretti -
Chief of Staff,
Italian Air Force
- Using F-35 to change the attitude of the Italian Air Force
- Interoperability and versatility of F-35, focusing on dispersed airfields
- Drawing lessons from F-35 for future sixth-generation aircraft and GCAP developments
9:30 am - 10:00 am
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS BY LOCKHEED MARTIN
10:00 am - 10:30 am
KEYNOTE BRIEFING: STATE OF THE COMBAT AIR FORCES
General Ken Wilsbach -
Commander, Air Combat Command,
U.S. Air Force
Allies & Partners Progressing Together
- Deterrence through partnership
- Exercising ACE
- Interoperability/interchangeability
- Air & Space Superiority
- Electronic Warfare & Cyber Warfare
- Long Range Kill Chain
- Collaborative Combat Aircraft
- 5th Generation Weapons
10:30 am - 11:00 am
MORNING COFFEE AND NETWORKING
ELEMENTS OF COMBAT AIR POWER
11:00 am - 11:30 am
SWEDEN’S PREPARATION FOR NEXT-GENERATION COMBAT AIRCRAFTS
Brigadier General Lars Helmrich -
Director Air and Space Systems Division,
FMV - Swedish Defence Materiel Administration
- Update from the Swedish Defence Material Administration
- Sweden’s vision of future combat aircraft systems
- Capabilities of Sweden’s JAS-39 Gripen
- Role of training to maintain the skills to take-off and land from short and dispersed runways
Brigadier General Lars Helmrich
Director Air and Space Systems DivisionFMV - Swedish Defence Materiel Administration
11:30 am - 12:00 pm
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS FROM SAAB
12:00 pm - 12:30 pm
THE ROYAL AIR FORCE’S COMBAT AIR POWER
Air Commodore Howard Edwards -
Combat Air Force Commander,
Royal Air Force
- The Evolution of Number 1 Group
- Unifying a family of systems for more efficient operations involving multiple platforms Interoperability and Interchangeability unlocking operational effectiveness and agility
- The role of technology in ‘Control of the Air’
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
LUNCH AND NETWORKING
1:30 pm - 2:10 pm
PANEL DISCUSSION: ELEMENTS OF AIR POWER - LEAD BY BOEING
Justin Bronk -
Senior Research Fellow for Airpower,
RUSI
Lieutenant General Derek C. France - Commander, 9th Air Force, USAF Central, U.S. Air Force
Lieutenant General (Ret'd) Joseph "Gus" Guastella - Corporate Vice President and Regional Executive for Europe & Middle East, Northrop Grumman
Lieutenant General (Ret'd) Joseph "Gus" Guastella
Corporate Vice President and Regional Executive for Europe & Middle EastNorthrop Grumman
2:10 pm - 2:40 pm
OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES OF THE UNITED STATES AIRFORCE: 4TH /5TH GENERATION INTEGRATION
Major General David G. "Baja" Shoemaker -
Director of Operations, Joint Base Langley-Eustis,
U.S. Air Force
- Explore advancements in 4th & 5th generation integration
- Future plans to maximize generational integration & improve sustainment
- Strategic considerations and unique challenges faced
Major General David G. "Baja" Shoemaker
Director of Operations, Joint Base Langley-EustisU.S. Air Force
2:40 pm - 3:10 pm
ROLE OF F-35 IN THE HIGH END FIGHT
Lieutenant General Michael Schmidt -
PEO & Director for F-35 Lightning II Program,
U.S. Air Force
- Strategic vision of F-35 in current operating environments
- Defining the future role of F-35 for the U.S. Air Force
- Perspective of an F-35 pilot
Lieutenant General Michael Schmidt
PEO & Director for F-35 Lightning II ProgramU.S. Air Force
3:10 pm - 3:40 pm
AFTERNOON TEA AND NETWORKING BREAK
INTEROPERABILITY & INTEGRATION OF AUTONOMOUS COLLABORATIVE PLATFORMS AND SPACE CAPABILITIES
3:40 pm - 4:20 pm
PANEL DISCUSSION: HARNESSING AUTONOMY FOR NEXT GENERATION AIR DOMINANCE TODAY
Stephanie Lingemann -
Senior Director Air Domain,
Helsing
- Software-defined or hardware-defined? Finding the balance for development, procurement, and delivery of uncrewed combat platforms
- What are the biggest technical challenges? Different problem sets bring different challenges: dog fights, beyond visual range, and collaborative autonomous platforms
- What are the human challenges? The human element of human machine teams and the systems that need to be put in place
- How quickly can this be achieved? Exploring the possibilities for FCAS and GCAP software technologies to be brought into service earlier
4:20 pm - 4:50 pm
ENSURING SUCCESSFUL INTEGRATION OF AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS WITHIN THE POLISH AIR CAPABILITIES
Major General Cezary Wiśniewski -
Deputy General Commander,
Polish Armed Forces
- Observations from Polish air activities as the Ukraine conflict continues
- Integrating systems such as UAVs into air combat capabilities to enhance operations
- Ensuring interoperability between multiple systems as they continue to be developed
4:50 pm - 5:20 pm
SYSTEM ARCHITECTURES TO ENABLE INTEROPERABILITY
Colonel Timothy Helfrich -
Director, Agile Development Office,
U.S. Air Force
5:20 pm - 5:50 pm
FUTURE FIGHTER AIRCRAFT INTEGRATION WITH SPACE CAPABILITIES TO MAINTAIN A STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE
Christopher Mulder -
Director, Air Force International Programs,
Defense Security Cooperation Agency
- Integration of future fighter aircrafts with space-based capabilities
- Challenges of integrating space, electronic warfare and cybersecurity into air combat
- Implications of multi-domain operations
Christopher Mulder
Director, Air Force International ProgramsDefense Security Cooperation Agency
5:50 pm - 6:00 pm
CHAIRMEN’S CLOSING REMARKS
General (Ret.) Frank Gorenc -
Former Commander,
USAFE/AFAFRICA
Lieutenant General (Ret'd) Klaus-Peter Stieglitz - Former Commander, German Air Force
