SCHEDULE – Defence in Space 2026

Event Schedule

Tuesday, 27 October 2026

07:45

-

08:30

Coffee Break

Arrival & Coffee

08:30

-

08:35

Keynote

Welcome Words

Ammar Ali,

Director – Space, Defence & Intelligence -

CGI

08:35

-

08:50

Keynote

Charity Brief

Brief by chosen Charity: the Allied Forces Foundation (AFF)

Stuart Taylor,

Allied Forces Foundation (AFF)

08:50

-

09:10

Keynote

Official Opening - National Armaments Director Group

Rear Admiral Tony Williams,

Director Space Systems Portfolio, NADG -

NADG

09:10

-

09:30

Keynote

Two Speeds: Military Meets Commercial

Dr Dylan Browne,

General Manager -

NATO NCIA

09:30

-

09:50

Keynote

Brief - International Affairs Office, Space Systems Command (SSC), USSF

Angela J. Lindemuth,

Deputy Director of International Affairs -

International Affairs Office, Space Systems Command (SSC), USSF

09:50

-

10:50

Panel

Panel - Sovereignty & Resilience

Stephan Heirbrant,

Director Governmental Satellite Communications -

GovSat

Steve Mills,

Vice President, Global Government Strategy -

Eutelsat Group

Martin Hellmann,

Commander in the German Cyber & Information Domain Service -

German Armed Forces

Ben Pigsley,

President & CEO -

USEI

Group Captain Ben Sharp,

Space Strategy & Plans -

UK Ministry of Defence

James DeBroeck,

SATCOM Planner -

USEUCOM

Paul Tedman,

Managing Director, European Space -

Anduril Industries

Moderator:

Andy Rayner,

Vice President for International Growth -

ASTRION

10:50

-

11:05

Keynote

From Ambition to Capability: Luxembourg's Contribution to Space Defence

Geoffroy Beaudot,

Head of Space -

Luxembourg Department of Defence

11:05

-

11:35

Coffee Break

Coffee Break powered by Eutelsat

11:35

-

11:50

Keynote

Space: the contested frontline - protecting our interests and driving growth

Dr Michael O’Callaghan FRAeS,,

Head of Geospatial UK and Future Programmes -

Airbus Defence and Space

11:50

-

12:05

Keynote

Resilient Communications - Development in Theatre

Henry Nelson,

UK President -

Marconi Technologies

12:05

-

12:20

Keynote

Connected Constellations for a Contested World

Jordi Barrera Ars,

CTO & Co-Founder -

Open Cosmos

12:20

-

12:35

Keynote

Securing the Space Domain and Unlocking Defence Growth

Nick Shave MBA, MSc, FRAeS,

UK Managing Director -

Astroscale

12:35

-

13:40

Lunch Break

Lunch Break powered by Astroscale

13:45

-

13:50

Keynote

Welcome back words

Irina Petrov,

VP of Marketing, Communications & Membership -

GSOA

13:50

-

14:05

Keynote

Creating UK Growth and Global Opportunity Through Space Collaboration

Chris Spicer,

Regional Director UK/Europe -

Lockheed Martin Space

14:05

-

14:20

Keynote

Owning the High Ground: Building a Sovereign, Software-Defined MILSATCOM System

Dave Davis,

Senior Technical Director -

ST Engineering iDirect

14:20

-

14:35

Keynote

Cyber Resilience in Orbit: Transforming SATCOM Networks Security

Daniel Gizinski,

President of Satellite & Space Communications Segment -

Comtech

14:35

-

15:20

Panel

Panel discussions - How can low cost uncrewed systems access assured PNT?

Andy Lincoln,

Chief Engineer -

Viasat

Dr. Michael L. O’Connor,

Executive Vice President, PNT Division -

Iridium Communications

Giorgio Taylor,

Director of Business Development, UK and Europe -

Xona Space Systems

Dan Sola,

CEO -

Archangel Autonomy

Moderator:

Andy Proctor,

Managing Director -

RethinkPNT

15:20

-

15:35

Keynote

The Hardware of Resilience: Engineering Multi-Orbit Terminals for Sovereign Agility

Blad Stavropoulos,

Sr Director of Solutions and Sales Engineering -

Intellian Technologies

15:35

-

16:00

Coffee Break

Coffee Break powered by Eutelsat

16:00

-

16:45

Panel

Panel Discussions - Direct-to-Device for Defence: Leveraging Commercial Innovation for Operational Advantage

David Dean,

Space FBLOS Principal Advisor -

DSTL

Danielle Edwards,

VP Commercial Satcom -

Open Cosmos

Gaz Littlechild ,

New Business Director, Defence & National Security -

MDA Space UK

Dr. Joseph Bravman,

Chief Engineer -

Lynk

Nandan Das,

Global Head of Wireless Standards -

Viasat

Moderator:

Ammar Ali,

Director – Space, Defence & Intelligence -

CGI

16:45

-

17:00

Keynote

Using Technology to enhance operational readiness and resilience

Maj Gen (Ret.) Roch Pelletier ,

Regional Vice President -

Calian Defence Europe/UK

17:00

-

17:15

Keynote

5G NTN in Military Comms - PACE in Contested Environments

Andy Walker,

Head of Satellite and Space -

TTP

17:15

-

17:30

Keynote

Countering Electronic Warfare: Anti-Jamming and Resilient SATCOM Solutions

Terence Schuermans ,

Product Line Manager for SATCOM -

Thales

17:30

-

18:15

Panel

Speed Dating - Talents meet Industry

Anushka Sharma,

Liaison Manager -

Space Academic Network

William Formosa,

Head of Future Solutions -

Babcock

Emma Lucas,

Client Services Director -

Experis Academy

Julie Hyam,

Head of Talent Acquisition -

Open Cosmos

Jonathan Eastwood,

Professor of Space Physics -

Imperial College London

Moderator:

Dave Moody,

Director, North East Space Skills and Technology Centre -

Northumbria University

Wednesday, 28 October 2026

07:45

-

08:30

Coffee Break

Arrival & Coffee

08:45

-

08:50

Keynote

Welcome Words

William Formosa,

Head of Future Solutions -

Babcock

08:50

-

09:05

Keynote

Day 2 Official Opening by Barry Austin

Satcom Head, Defence Digital

UK MoD

09:05

-

09:25

Keynote

Data Driven Decisions: Enhancing NATO HQ Space Domain Awareness

Giuseppe (Pino) Nobile,

Head, GEOINT & Space Services Section -

NATO HQ

09:25

-

09:40

Keynote

Strength in Government Partnership: Assured MILSATCOM in Contested Orbits

Patrick Biewer,

CEO -

GovSat

09:40

-

09:55

Keynote

Operational Superiority Through Resilient Software-Defined SATCOM

How SDR, Virtualization, and Multi-Orbit Networking Enable Mission Continuity in Contested Environments

Gil Elizov,

VP Product & Solutions -

Gilat Defense

09:55

-

10:40

Panel

Panel Discussions - How do we secure and harden COMSATCOM for military applications?

Alan Campbell ,

VP Digital Transformation -

SES Space & Defense

Veit Oehler,

Head of EMEA Sales -

Cobham Satcom

Jeanette Irekvist,

Chief Commercial Officer -

Ovzon

Major General (ret.) Odd-Harald Hagen,

Director Strategy and Business Development -

Space Norway

Geoffroy Beaudot,

Head of Space -

Luxembourg Department of Defence

Moderator:

Paul Wells,

Chief Satcom Engineer -

UK MoD/Defence Digital

10:40

-

11:05

Coffee Break

Coffee Break powered by Eutelsat

11:05

-

11:20

Keynote

Innovation in intelligence; harnessing the power of the commercial sector

Tony Reeves,

Founder/Director -

MAIAR

11:20

-

11:40

Panel

Satellite imagery in the newsroom

Paul Brown,

Senior Journalist -

BBC Verify

Emma Pengelly ,

Journalist -

BBC Verify

11:40

-

11:55

Keynote

Rethinking military connectivity: building a data arsenal for the future of warfare

Kelly Dennehy,

VP, Government Sales -

MTN Sat

11:55

-

12:10

Keynote

Securing Europe’s Future with Sovereign D2D Connectivity

Stefan van Look,

Head of Government and Institutional Affairs -

OQ Technology

12:10

-

13:10

Panel Satuccino

Satuccino Session by Satellite Applications Catapult. Pitching companies:

Infinect Ltd
Blue Neptune
OPTIMAL CITIES LTD
bandarlog.dev Ltd
NV5 Geospatial
NEOWATT Ltd
UniVirtua
SuperSharp
First Light Fusion
Magdrive
Stars Edge

13:10

-

13:55

Lunch Break

Lunch Break powered by Shield Space

13:55

-

14:00

Keynote

Welcome back words

Wing Commander Dave Black,,

Head of Satellite Coordination -

UK Space Command

14:00

-

14:15

Keynote

The First Shots of the Next War Will Be Fired in Space. Is the UK Ready?

Graeme Ritchie,

CEO -

Shield Space

14:15

-

14:30

Keynote

From the Stars to the Boardroom

Andy Hindley,

Head of Defence and Security -

Telespazio UK

14:30

-

14:45

Keynote

Satellites face real-world threats — but we’re not building them to survive

Dr Robert Brüll,

CEO -

FibreCoat

14:45

-

15:30

Panel

Panel Discussions - SMEs in the Space & Defence realm

Nik Smith,

EVP and GM -

Slingshot International

Pamela Smith,

Director of Government Programmes -

Clyde Space

Tanya Suarez ,

Founder & CEO -

IOT Tribe

Hina Khan ,

Head of Commercial -

Craft Prospect Ltd

Richard Johanson,

CEO -

Archangel Lightworks

Moderator:

Dr Nafeesa Dajda,

Chief of Missions -

Satellite Applications Catapult

15:30

-

16:15

Panel

GEOINT Technology and Politics

Wing Commander Dave Black,

Head of Satellite Coordination -

UK Space Command

Chris Newlands,

Founder & CEO -

space aye

Gisueppe (Pino) Nobile,

Head, GEOINT & Space Services Section -

NATO HQ

Damon Olloman,

Vice President Mission Sales -

ICEYE

James Cemmell,

Vice President Institutional Partnerships -

Open Cosmos

Moderator:

Tony Reeves,

Founder/Director -

MAIAR

16:15

-

16:30

Keynote

Closing Remarks