Programme
Symposium Workshops & Networking | September 21
Pre-registered workshops at Energy Discovery Centre (building connected to the main venue)
Panel: Data readiness, testing/certification, safety, counter-autonomy, integration
Head of Country Capability and Support. European Space Agency (ESA)
Head of Country Capability and Support. European Space Agency (ESA)
Task Force for European Defence Readiness: An Airbus Defence and Space initiative to create a unique mission-driven coalition bringing together European Defence Industry primes, agile newcomers, and operational end users to share insights, sharpen strategies, and accelerate collective action.
Bringing together industry, decision-makers, investors and end-users; to warm up for the following day.
Symposium “Next in Defence: Autonomy, Space & Industrial Readiness” | September 22
Narrative
The symposium, held as part of Estonian Defence Week, brings together Estonian and allied defence industry policymakers, investors, and end-users, as well as defence and internal security partners. The aim is to identify opportunities and accelerate real cooperation projects, investments, and potential business agreements.
The 2026
Focus is on three closely interconnected axes: developments in autonomous systems, the space domain as the “backbone” of next-generation capabilities, and defence industry readiness for growing demand.
The core question of the symposium is: how to integrate autonomous technologies into future capability development and space technologies into defence capability that moves from rapid prototype to production and on to the end user.
Opening Block: Strategic Framework (Creative Hub, main hall)
Estonian Centre for Defence Investments (ECDI)
AI in the Defence Industry (Creative Hub, main hall)
Intro speech & firesite chat
Topics:
- verification/validation,
- standardisation/interoperability,
- integration with NATO systems,
- data sharing.
Lunch in the food tent and in Õuetorn.
Nordic-Baltic 8 Industry Ministers Panel (Creative Hub, main hall)
Scaling regional defence industry: supply chains, investments, common standards and export support.
Space & Defence (main hall)
Creative Hub, main hall
- Regional industrial cooperation: how to bring foreign partners to Estonia/Nordics and Baltics to manufacture/develop.
- Investor perspective: defence technology funds, risk, growth, procurement and export logic.
- Integrating innovation into the defence industry: from problem to integration.
- What measures accelerate industry-government cooperation?: the goal of changing defence procurement principles must be flexibility, speed, and supply chain security.
- How to involve industry in capability development from the start?: Cooperation must take place already in the early stage of capability development.
Summary and “next steps”
Workshops venue: 21 September 15:30 - 21:30, Energy Discovery Centre
Symposium venue: 22 September 8:30 - 16:00, Tallinn Creative Hub, Kursi 3, Blackbox
*Please note: attending this event does not give you entry to other events scheduled for this week. The only exception is the access to the Tallinn Defence EXPO which is included in your symposim and workshops registration.
*Please note that the programme is preliminary and subject to change. The organisers reserve the right to amend the schedule, speakers and session formats as preparations continue.
Sponsors
Supporters
Organisers
EDW 2025 Highlights
Join us at Estonian Defence Week (EDW)
The Creative Hub (Kultuurikatel)
Kursi tn 3, Tallinn