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As autonomy expands across defense operations, leaders prepare for the next phase.
Defense organizations are entering a crucial phase wherein the ability to integrate emerging technologies across operational domains is a decisive advantage.
As autonomy and AI-enabled systems mature, leaders are increasingly focused not only on technological breakthroughs, but on how to deploy them quickly and at scale.
Autonomy in Defense 2026, hosted by Corinium Global Intelligence, will bring together senior defense leaders, technologists, and policymakers on March 19, 2026, in Washington, D.C. to examine how autonomy in defense is transforming from an isolated capability into a foundational element of modern operations.
The summit will explore how emerging technologies can support operational agility and deliver machine-speed insights to decision-makers across the joint force. Learn more >>
How to Close the Gap Between Innovation and Implementation
While technological innovation continues at a rapid pace, defense leaders point to a persistent challenge: How best to transition promising capabilities from prototypes into operational use.
Retired Lieutenant General Michael Groen, former Director of the Department of Defense Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, describes this dynamic as a fundamental implementation challenge within the defense ecosystem speaking at a recent Corinium event:
“We don’t have an innovation problem,” Groen says. “We have an execution problem.”
According to Groen, legacy systems and institutional processes can slow the adoption of emerging technologies, even when those technologies are ready for operational deployment.
Overcoming these barriers requires not only technical solutions, but cultural change within defense organizations.
Successful implementation increasingly depends on closer collaboration between technologists and warfighters, ensuring that new capabilities align directly with operational needs.
Scaling Innovation at Mission Speed
For many defense leaders, the defining challenge of the next decade will be the ability to modernize at what some call “mission speed.”
Eileen Vidrine, former Chief Data and AI Officer of the United States Air Force, emphasizes that modernization today is driven by operational tempo and the need to remain ready in rapidly evolving environments.
“You have to be ready,” Vidrine says. “Are your playbooks up to date so that they align with the new operations tempo? Or is somebody else going to leapfrog over you?”
Vidrine points to several factors that determine whether new capabilities successfully scale across the defense enterprise, including the use of dual-use commercial technologies, strong public-private partnerships, and clear communication of mission value to leadership.
She also stresses that innovation is increasingly collaborative.
“Data and AI are team sports,” she notes, highlighting the importance of collaboration between government, industry, and academia to accelerate technology adoption.
Key Themes of the Summit
Autonomy in Defense 2026 will examine how defense organizations can translate technological innovation into operational advantage. Key areas of focus include:
- Operationalizing Autonomy at Scale – Moving from experimentation to enterprise deployment across multiple domains
- AI at the Tactical Edge – Enabling resilient decision-making in contested and communications-constrained environments
- Human-Machine Teaming – Building trust and collaboration between operators and autonomous systems
- Mission Engineering and Digital Infrastructure – Integrating autonomy into cyber-resilient, software-defined operational architectures
- Autonomous Logistics and Sustainment – Applying AI to readiness, maintenance, and enterprise operations
- Training, Simulation, and Digital Engineering – Using digital twins and simulation environments to accelerate capability development
Together, these discussions will explore how autonomy can support a more agile, adaptive defense enterprise capable of responding to rapidly evolving security challenges.
View the agenda and speaker lineup >>
Registration for Autonomy in Defense 2026 is now open. Government professionals may be eligible for complimentary passes.
