Joint Air and Space Power Conference 2025

30 September - 2 October 2025

Grugahalle Essen

Disrupting Dominance: The Future of Air Superiority?

We cordially invite distinguished delegates, stakeholders, and experts in the field of Joint Air and Space Power to attend our annual conference, which will take place from 30 September to 2 October 2025 at the ‘Grugahalle’ in Essen, Germany. This event offers a forum to explore the theme of ‘Disrupting Dominance: The Future of Air Superiority?’.

For decades, NATO’s unrivalled air and space superiority has been a cornerstone of its collective deterrence strategy. That era is over.

Deteriorating geopolitics and disruptive technologies have fundamentally altered NATO’s strategic landscape by widening the spectrum of potential threats and challenging its previous foundations of air and space deterrence. On one end of the technological spectrum, cheap, commercially available drones and other weapons have lowered the barrier to entry onto the modern battlefield, enabling state and non-state actors to contest the air and space domains at a fraction of the cost of previous eras. Simultaneously, on the other end of the spectrum, advancements in space capabilities, sixth-generation fighters, and autonomous platforms are set to render legacy combat systems obsolete, demanding a significant and urgent modernization effort from NATO members.

This broadening array of threats requires NATO to reevaluate its deterrence strategies, defence plans, and overall combat capabilities. Investments in high-end systems must be balanced with the need for ‘affordable mass’ capable of countering new and diverse threats ranging from low-cost drone swarms to advanced hypersonic weapons. To address this challenge, NATO requires a comprehensive assessment of its current defence posture, a willingness to promote rapid innovation, and a commitment to interoperability and collaboration between Alliance governments, militaries, and industry partners.

As NATO reorients to a changing battlefield, it must answer the question, ‘How will we achieve air and space superiority in future operations?’

The 2025 Joint Air and Space Power Conference provides a forum to address these complex challenges. Participants can look forward to a comprehensive two-day programme featuring intellectually stimulating panels, thought-provoking sessions, and active engagement and networking opportunities.

The Joint Air and Space Conference 2025 aims to facilitate active engagement and meaningful dialogue among participants. Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with senior military and civilian leaders from NATO and various nations. Through lively discussions, insights sharing, and shaping the future of international security, participants will play a key role in advancing collective knowledge.

We are looking forward to seeing you in Essen!

Conference Overview

Conference Panels

Panel 1

Dominance Disrupted

This panel will delve into the evolving strategic environment by examining the current geopolitical environment, as well as the disruptive impact of two simultaneous trends in air superiority: First, the proliferation of readily available, cost-effective technologies such as loitering munitions and one-way attack drones, which has lowered the barrier to entry onto the modern battlefield and challenges NATO air superiority as we know it. Second, the panel will discuss the rapid modernization of peer competitors as they field 5th and 6th generation fleets, advanced weapons, and space platforms at an astonishing rate. This session will provide an overview of the complex factors shaping the future of air and space power, highlighting the urgency to adapt and innovate, and identifying areas for immediate action.

Panel 2

The Tech Horizon: Emerging Technologies and their Tactical Implications

This panel will explore the disruptive technologies that are arriving this decade. Experts will discuss advancements in areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Autonomous Collaborative Platforms (ACP), hypersonic weapons, and space warfare capabilities, and they will describe how these technologies are likely to broadly influence the design, employment, command & control, and survivability of future air and space capabilities. This panel will identify the opportunities and challenges presented by these breakthroughs while identifying the paradigm changes that will necessitate new operational concepts and tactical doctrine for air and space power.

Panel 3

Reshaping NATO’s Innovation Cycles

This panel will focus on how NATO can accelerate its innovation cycles to maintain a competitive edge on today’s rapidly changing battlefield. Participants will discuss options for streamlining NATO’s procurement processes and enhancing collaboration between industry and military stakeholders to foster a culture of experimentation, rapid prototyping, and novel manufacturing and logistical methods. Experts will also discuss interoperability and standardization challenges and solutions related to integrating potential new technologies across existing forces, ensuring seamless operation in a complex threat environment.

Panel 4

‘The Next Ten Years’ Thought Experiment

In this open-ended panel, we ask leading experts to discuss their highest priority tasks for NATO if the Alliance had between one and ten years to prepare for a major war. Panellists will offer their perspectives on the key challenges and opportunities facing the Alliance in a near-term conflict scenario. They will further outline concrete, near-term steps which will provide the greatest benefit or mitigate the greatest risks to NATO in the short term. Discussions may cover acquisitions strategies, operational improvements, changes to the command structure, modernization initiatives, public and private sector cooperation, or enhanced training and readiness. This session will include compelling arguments emphasizing the urgency of proactive change within the Alliance.

Why you should attend

Renowned experts from the political, academic, military, and business spheres will debate in four themed panels the challenges and questions about the future of NATO Joint Air and Space Power, how it might best evolve and how the Alliance should leverage its Air and Space capabilities to enhance and sustain NATO’s three core tasks of Collective Defence, Crisis Management, and Cooperative Security.

This is your opportunity to hear from senior military and civilian leaders from across NATO and the nations on these topics of extreme importance and to engage and contribute to a robust discussion to strengthen and enhance the Alliance.

Grugahalle Essen - A New Era Begins

In the past three years, the JAPCC has reached its maximum capacity for both participants and exhibitors. The previous conference even exceeded attendee limits due to high demand. To accommodate the growing audience, the 2025 conference will take place at the Grugahalle, a larger and more versatile venue that provides new opportunities for participants, sponsors, and exhibitors.

The 2025 conference will showcase a significantly expanded exhibition area, featuring larger and more accessible exhibitor booths and private meeting rooms located on the same floor as the main conference sessions. This setup will ensure seamless engagement between exhibitors and attendees during networking breaks, enhancing the overall experience for all involved.

Experience the Excitement of a New Venue: The Grugahalle offers a modern and spacious setting that caters to JAPCC’s expanding audience, all while maintaining the high-quality experience that you have come to expect.

Enhanced Exhibition Experience: Exhibitor booths have been significantly enlarged, allowing for the showcasing of comprehensive solutions and interactive demonstrations that will captivate you.

Unparalleled Networking Opportunities: Interact with other senior leaders and experts as they delve into the future of joint air and space power, offering valuable insights and perspectives.

Don’t miss out on this exceptional opportunity to be a part of this event in 2025 – where innovation, collaboration, and excellence converge.

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