Fifty days from now, military commanders, defence manufacturers, technology innovators and policymakers will take their seats at Air Force Base Waterkloof in Pretoria for three days of intensive discussion about the continent’s most urgent security challenges. The AAD 2026 Conference, running from September 16 to 18 alongside the Africa Aerospace and Defence exhibition, has assembled an agenda built around a single overarching question: how should African nations prepare for a defence and security landscape that is shifting faster than many institutions can adapt.
The programme spans artificial intelligence, drone warfare, electronic warfare capabilities, defence manufacturing, space as a military domain, and the future of aviation. Each track reflects a reality facing African militaries and defence planners: the technologies reshaping modern conflict are advancing at a pace that outstrips traditional procurement cycles, doctrine development and budget planning. The challenge is not merely to understand these changes but to determine which lessons from global conflicts can actually be implemented within Africa’s distinct economic and operational contexts.
Day One opens with “The Future of Warfare,” a direct examination of how conflict itself is transforming. Sessions will probe the responsible military use of artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, the expanding threat of cyber warfare and hacktivism, the implications of electronic warfare, and the emerging possibilities of multi-domain operations. Delegates will confront practical tensions that define African defence strategy: how to modernise capabilities while operating under severe fiscal constraints, how to retire legacy systems without abandoning proven capabilities, and whether the pace of policy and procurement decisions can keep up with technological change. The day will also surface lessons from current conflicts around the world, with explicit focus on what is transferable to African military contexts and what is not.
The second day shifts emphasis to industrial capacity and sovereign capability. The African Defence Industry Showcase examines what building stronger, more sustainable defence manufacturing looks like across the continent. Discussions will address ammunition production and stockpiling, supply chain resilience, the transition from prototype to operational deployment, and the role of regional cooperation in creating more self-sufficient defence ecosystems. Public-private partnerships, research and development funding models, and the involvement of women and female-owned companies in the defence sector will all feature prominently. Space emerges as a critical strategic domain, with sessions exploring how African nations can secure their interests in the emerging space economy while building military capabilities in orbit.
The final day broadens the lens to commercial and military aviation, recognising that civil and military aviation systems increasingly overlap. Sessions will explore aviation’s role in economic connectivity, the expanding use of unmanned aerial systems in commercial, humanitarian and military contexts, air combat capability development, airport infrastructure, airspace management, and the technologies likely to reshape aviation in coming decades. Dual-use technologies, infrastructure and skills create opportunities that cannot be neatly separated into civilian or military categories, and the agenda reflects exactly that reality.
Beyond the formal sessions, the conference provides unstructured access to senior military representatives, government officials, defence industry leaders and subject-matter experts. A Full Conference Pass grants three days of sessions, access to the official opening ceremony and complete access to the AAD exhibition floor. Networking periods are integrated throughout each day, creating informal spaces where decisions and partnerships often take shape.
Guy Martin, Editor of DefenceWeb, which organises the conference, framed the event as an attempt to bring consequential conversations into proximity with decision-makers. “The agenda deliberately moves across technology, military capability, industry and aviation because these issues cannot be viewed in isolation,” Martin said. “Whether we are talking about AI, drones, electronic warfare, defence manufacturing, space or the future of aviation, the decisions being made today will shape Africa’s defence and security environment for years to come.”
With the opening date now fifty days away, organisations and individuals seeking to attend are being encouraged to secure their places early. The harder question, one the conference itself will not fully resolve, is whether the decisions that follow will move quickly enough to matter.