"Code to Combat Power: Accelerating Software for Integrated Defense and Strategic Advantage"

March 9–11, 2026 | Newton Marriott | Newton, MA
50th Anniversary Event

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New Horizons 2026 brings together senior leaders from government, industry, academia, and non-profits with one clear mission to field lethal warfighter capabilities faster than our adversaries.

Under the theme: "Code to Combat Power: Accelerating Software for Integrated Defense and Strategic Advantage", this milestone conference is aligned with Secretary of War priorities focused on speed, operational relevance, and decisive combat advantage in an era of Strategic Competition.

As conflict timelines compress and threats evolve, the Department of War must deliver capabilities at warfighting speed. New Horizons 2026 focuses on execution, not experimentation, and on fielding, not future concepts. The program highlights how software, digital engineering, and integrated command and control architectures are transforming the delivery of combat-ready capability across air, land, cyber, and information domains.

Conference Focus Areas

• Rapid fielding of combat-ready capabilities using modern software and agile acquisition

• Translating code into operational combat power for joint and coalition forces

• Resilient command, control, cyber, and battle management systems that operate in contested environments

• Scaling prototypes into deployable and sustainment-ready systems

• Industry and academia alignment to warfighter-validated requirements

New Horizons 2026 will feature keynote speakers and panelists from Department of War leadership, Air Staff, Program Acquisition Executive offices, industry, academia, and nonprofits.

Planned participation includes Program Acquisition Executives from Hanscom Air Force Base covering Command, Control and Communications Battle Management (C3BM), Cyber and Networks (C&N), Electronic Systems (ES), Nuclear Command, Control and Communications (NC3), Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Special Operations Forces (ISR-SOF) and Presidential and Executive Airpower, as well as senior leaders from the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Center at DEVCOM.

Move faster. Field smarter. Deliver combat power when it matters.