Program
Strategic Competition: In It To Win It
AIAA DEFENSE Forum is a Secret/NOFORN event providing a venue for leaders from government, military, industry, and academia to advance and accelerate innovation. The 2023 forum, to be held 11–13 April at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, MD, covers the strategic, programmatic, and technical topics and policy issues pertaining to the aerospace and defense community. This year’s theme will explore the critical role of the science and technology community in providing innovative and operationally relevant capabilities to win the strategic competition.
The forum’s program consists of two main parts: a technical program offering a deep analysis on research and technologies geared to solve specific problems, and high-level plenary sessions tackling the most pressing issues impacting the future of national security.
-
Keynote: Threat Briefing
-
Keynote
Speakers
-
Thomas Browning
Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Mission Capabilities, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, DoD
-
-
Keynote Panel: Chief Scientists
Moderator
-
David Honey
Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
Panelists
-
Kevin Cohen
Special Advisor, U.S. European Command -
Martin Lindsey
Science and Technology Division Chief (J85), U.S. Indo-Pacific Command -
Lisa R. Sanders
Director, Science and Technology for Special Operations Forces, Acquisition, Technology and Logistics , U.S. Special Operations Command -
Donna Cowell Senft
Chief Scientist, Air Force Global Strike Command
-
-
Industry CTO Panel: Hypersonics
Moderator
-
Mark Lewis
Executive Director of NDIA’s Emerging Technologies Institute (ETI)
Panelists
-
Glenn Case
Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Hermeus -
Dennis Helmich
Director, Integrated Military Systems, Sandia National Laboratories -
Daniel Millman
Chief Technology Officer, Stratolaunch -
John Otto
Senior Director, Advanced Hypersonic Weapons, Raytheon Missiles and Defense
-
-
Keynote Panel: Lab Commanders
Panelists
-
Timothy Bunning
Chief Technology Officer, Air Force Research Laboratory
-
-
Keynote: Threat Briefing
-
Keynote: How the Battlefield is Changing: Lessons Learned from Ukraine

Aerospace Survivability (Classified Course at AIAA DEFENSE FORUM - 14 April 2023)
14 April 2023 0800 - 1700
Defense Forum, Kossiakoff Center at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD
This 1-day post-forum course is intended to introduce the concept of survivability to engineers, analysts, and program managers working in the aerospace industry. Students should get an introduction to the basic concepts of susceptibility and vulnerability and how these concepts affect aerospace design. Additionally, students will see examples of how the survivability design discipline is incorporated into modern military platforms to highlight the key attributes of survivability.
Who Should Attend: The targeted audience includes engineers, analysts, and program managers, both in the DoD and Industry, part of the aerospace/defense industry.
Course Registration Rates (Separate registration from AIAA DEFENSE FORUM):
Early Member/Government Employee - $299 (by 29 March)
Standard Member/Government Employee - $399 (by 21 April)
Full Course Rate - $499