Apex Defense Conference 2026

In concert with Clarion Defence, Hudson Institute will host Apex, a dynamic defense technology conference that unites warfighters, acquisition professionals, startups, small and medium businesses, investors, and industry leaders to tackle the United States military’s operational challenges from the seabed to space.

Apex’s mission is to accelerate the delivery of high-impact, mission critical solutions to American warfighters and allied forces, addressing urgent needs with near-term solutions.

To do this, Apex Defense places key operational problems at the center of the program, within an environment that is built for collaboration and action-orientated dialogue.

For more information or to register for the conference, click here.

US Navy Keynote Address: Admiral Daryl Caudle 

Admiral Daryl Caudle opens the APEX Conference with a speech that emphasizes the necessity to sustain the future of the United States competitive edge, and what US Naval forces must get right to fight and win in the complex geopolitical theater of today. 

Participants

• Admiral Daryl Caudle, Chief of Naval Operations, US Navy
• Bryan Clark, Director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, Hudson Institute

Creating a More Adaptable Force

Panelists discuss adaptability, the centerpiece of future military advantage. Ensuring forces are adaptable is key in high-performance operations and great-power military competition.

Participants

• Greg Simer, Chief Technology Officer, Northrop Grumman
• Joe Rixey, VP for Navy and Marine Corps, Lockheed Martin
• Rob Lehman, Cofounder and CCO, Saronic
• Zachary LaCelle, VP of Product, Forterra

Moderator

• Bryan Clark, Director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, Hudson Institute

Operational Problem A: Sustaining Forces on a Contested and Dispersed Theater of Operations 

Panelists discuss key demands and opportunities in distribution and contested sustainment, addressing the needs for attritable logistics platforms, operationalizing advanced manufacturing at the tactical edge, and assured command and control of logistic network nodes.

Participants

• BG James Kent, Senior Advisor To the Commanding General of US Army Materiel Command
• Brigadier General Tara Nolan, Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Air Forces Southern
• Peter Goldsborough, Cofounder and Chief Technology Officer, Rune Technologies
• Woody Glier, Cofounder and CTO, Gallatin AI
• David Zagaynov, CEO, Poseidon Aerospace

Moderator

• Timothy A. Walton, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute 

Scaling the Industrial Base at Speed, Scale, and for Protracted Warfare

Panelists participate in a cross-cutting discussion between the eight operational concepts of the APEX conference. Providing attempts to find holistic answers to the question: What do warfighters need to win? They apply an emphasis on the defense industrial base, being key to driving future military advantage.

Participants

• Mike Martin, Cofounder and President, Tiberius Aerospace Inc
• Morgan Hitzig, Venture Investor, Venrock
• Brennan Grignon, Cofounder and CEO, Vantive
• John Confrancesco, Founder and CEO, American AI Logistics

Moderator

• Nadia Schadlow, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute 

In Conversation: Thomas J. Lawhead, Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff

Bryan Clark and Vice Admiral Michael VernazzaBryan Clark and Vice Admiral Michael Vernazza

Thomas Lawhead discusses the Air Force's efforts to build an advantage and respond to the calls Secretary Dr. Troy Meink and General Kenneth Wilsbach have issued to fix, fly, and fight United States forces in new ways. 

Participants

• Thomas Lawhead, Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, Strategy, Integration and Requirements, HQ - US Air Force
• Timothy A. Walton, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute 

In Conversation: Industrial Base Resilience

Panelists discuss focal points to boost resilience of the industrial base, such as battery standardization to ramp up scale and production, incorporating new investors by opening up to the commercial world, and the importance of a sustained demand signal. 

Participants

• Jeff Frankston, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of War, Industrial Base Resilience, Department of War
• Bryan Clark, Director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, Hudson Institute

Countering Against Next-Gen Undersea Threats and Protecting Critical Infrastructure

Rear Admiral Paul Flos discusses the most challenging environments for maritime operations and the role of autonomous systems versus crude systems in undersea surveillance in the North Sea and the Baltic. 

Participants

• Rear Admiral Paul Flos, Program Director, International Naval Materiel Cooperation, Netherlands Ministry of Defence
• Bryan Clark, Director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, Hudson Institute

In Conversation: Achieving Battlefield Information Dominance

Vice Admiral Michael Vernazza discusses strategic challenges facing naval and joint forces, the role of technology and acquisition reform when facing those challenges, and what leaders in government and industry must do in order to deliver speed and scale. 

Participants

• Vice Admiral Michael Vernazza, Commander, Naval Information Forces, US Navy
• Bryan Clark, Director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, Hudson Institute

Operational Problem E: Generating Combat Power Inside the Enemy’s Weapons Engagement Zone

Panelists discuss the necessary capabilities and forces needed to operate successfully in contested environments. 

Participants

• Thomas Lawhead, Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, Strategy Integration and Requirements, HQ, US Air Force
• Colonel Michael Wagner, Director of Concepts, US Army Futures and Concepts Center, US Army T2COM
• Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Black, Military Analyst, Combat Lethality Task Force, Department of War
• Vince Dutcavich, Cofounder and CTO Atropos

Moderator 

• Timothy A. Walton, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute