Announcing Defense Strategies Institute’s Digital Engineering for Defense Summit

Washington, DC, April 04, 2026 --(PR.com)-- As the Department of War continues to modernize capabilities to outpace near-peer competitors, the integration of digital engineering across the defense acquisition lifecycle has become essential to accelerating innovation, improving interoperability, and delivering mission-ready systems at speed and scale. To this end, Defense Strategies Institute is pleased to announce the upcoming Digital Engineering for Defense Summit, taking place in Washington, D.C.

The Summit will convene senior leaders and decision-makers from across the Department of War, military services, combatant commands, federal agencies, industry, and academia to examine strategies for implementing and scaling digital engineering practices across defense programs. This forum will highlight efforts to enhance model-based systems engineering (MBSE), advance digital thread and digital twin capabilities, improve data interoperability, and enable more agile, cost-effective acquisition outcomes in support of the Joint Force.

Confirmed Speakers as of 1 April 2026
- Rosie Bauer
(Acting) Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Data, Engineering, and Software

- Col. Jeffrey Poquette, USA
Project Manager, MV-75 Future Long Range Assault Aircraft, CPE Aviation

- Col. Ian Slazinik, PhD, USAF
Director, STAT COE, DIICE & HS COBP, Air Force Institute of Technology

- Col. Robert Enrico, USSF
Space Systems Integration Office (SSIO), Space Systems Command

- Jennifer Swanson, SES (Ret.)
Vice President, Digital & Next-Gen Solutions, Cypress International; Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Data, Engineering, and Software

- RDML (Ret.) Jason Lloyd, USN
Vice President, Maritime Engineering and Design, TotalTek; Former Chief Engineer and Deputy Commander for Ship Design, Integration, and Naval Engineering, NAVSEA

- Timothy Gramp
Chief Technology Officer, Expansia; Former Chief Engineer & Deputy to the Commander, SEAL, MARCORSYSCOM

- Dr. Dinesh Verma
Executive Director, Systems Engineering Research Center/Acquisition Innovation Research Center

- Chris Collins, SES (Ret.)
Former Director, Developmental Test and Evaluation, and Assessments, OUSW R&E

- Brian Kozola
Professor of Systems Engineering, Warfighting Acquisition University

- Ben Jimenez
Digital Engineering Initiative Lead, MITRE

- Olivia Pinon Fischer, PhD
Principal Research Engineer; Chief, Digital Engineering Division, Georgia Institute of Technology

- Stephanie Halcrow
President, The Halcrow Group; External Advisor, The Acquisition Innovation Research Center

Topics of Discussion Will Include:
· Designing, Acquiring, and Sustaining the Future Fleet with Digital Engineering
· How the Army is Aligning Data Strategy, Software Acquisition, and Digital Engineering to Enable Continuous Modernization
· From Policy to Program: Operationalizing Digital Engineering to Support Acquisition, Reduce Risk, and Enhance Interoperability
· Delivering a Lethal and Resilient Space Enterprise: Driving Digital Transformation to Operate at Speed and Scale
· Scaling Digital Engineering Across the Air Force to Accelerate Capability Delivery and Sustainment

DSI is now welcoming Sponsors and Exhibitors for the forum. To learn more, please contact Amanda Delgado at adelgado@dsigroup.org.

Active military and government personnel attend complimentary.

Those interested in participating in the Digital Engineering for Defense Summit can visit Defense Strategies Institute’s website at digitalengineering.dsigroup.org.

Anyone interested in learning more or sending questions, please contact Nikole Barto at nbarto@dsigroup.org.