Information & Organizers

The AIAA Defense and Security Forum (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 2021 forum, to be held 14–16 September 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 strategic imperatives of competition – from great power competition to commercial innovation to competing in the marketplace of ideas.

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.

Highlights from previous AIAA DEFENSE Forums can be found in the Archives.

Executive Steering Committee

Ali Raz, George Mason University     
David Denhard, Missile Defense Agency
Dean Gehr, Raytheon Missile Systems (Retired)
Laura McGill, Sandia National Laboratories
Tony Mitchell, Leidos Innovations Center     
Peter Montgomery, Jacobs
Robie Samanta-Roy, Electra.aero
Ed Swallow, The Aerospace Corporation
David Van Wie, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

Forum Technical Chair

Anjaney Kottapalli, Lockheed Martin Corporation 

The Technical Program Committee is listed on the Call for Technical Briefings page.