Advantage is Built;
Not Inherited.
Where defense-tech founders meet the acquisition executives who deploy capability to the fight.
Why NYC?
Why Now?
The New York National Security Forum is an annual, application-only convening that connects defense-tech founders with the acquisition executives, appropriators, and senior government stakeholders who move capability from prototype to program of record.
Where capability meets capital — this Forum brings together technology, warfighters, and money, scaling defense innovation beyond the Beltway to the financial capital of the world.
Direct matchmaking between founders building dual-use technology and the PAEs who can accelerate their path from prototype to operational deployment.
Who's This Room
Designed For.
Founders
Defense-tech companies building for contested environments
Acquisition
Portfolio Acquisition Executives from Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines
Capital
Strategic investors and financial leaders accelerating deployment
Two Days.
The Demand Side.
The defense-tech founders building capability, in one room with the acquisition leaders who fund and field it. Structured matchmaking and capability showcases connect what industry can deliver in the next 18 months to what the warfighter actually needs now.
Opening Remarks & Welcome
Sets the context for the Forum — why this room, why now, and the principles guiding two days of off-the-record discussion.
The State of Defense Acquisition
Where DoD acquisition stands today — what is accelerating, what is still broken, and what industry and investors need to understand about how the Department buys.
Capability I — Securing the Supply Chain
From Prototype to Fielding Capability
Real pathways from demo to IDIQ. What is working across OTAs, SBIRs, and traditional contracting. Where founders get stuck and what acquirers wish companies understood.
Capability II — Mission-Ready Intelligence
AI-powered software that ingests messy, foreign, and open-source data and turns it into clear, mission-ready intelligence so U.S. and allied operators can detect threats and decide faster.
Warfighter Demand Signal — Now
Which capabilities are needed in the next 12-24 months. Where industry is close but not there yet. What "good enough to field" means in contested environments.
Capability III — Scaling RF Sensing
Low-cost AI RF sensors and backend software giving forces a live picture of the radio spectrum — detecting, locating, and classifying emitters at scale.
Scaling Production for the Warfighter
What it takes to move from prototype to sustained production: manufacturing constraints, supply-chain fragility, workforce gaps, facility investment, and what scale demands from industry and the Department.
Wrap-Up & Day 1 Reception
Cohort reception following the Demand Side program. Founders, acquirers, operators, and capital in one room before the VIP dinners.
VIP Dinner I · ~20 seats
Curated founder-table dinner pairing builders with senior acquisition and operational leaders. Parallel with Dinner II.
VIP Dinner II · ~20 seats
Curated dinner running parallel to Dinner I, with a complementary guest pairing.
The Capital Side.
How capital flows into defense companies and how the Department buys from them are the same equation — and today they do not line up. Investors, founders, and acquisition leaders work the structural mismatch in the open, from capital formation to acquisition reform.
The Capital Side of the Problem
The disconnect between how private capital flows into defense companies and how the Department actually buys from them. Where the structural mismatches are, and what has to change.
Capital Formation in Defense Tech
Why traditional VC models strain under long procurement cycles. What LP appetite for defense looks like today. Where creative structures — venture debt, strategic co-investment, growth equity — fill the gap.
From the Hill to the Board Room — New Acquisition Reform
Structural friction between how the Department buys and how companies sell. The valley of death from the acquirer side: budgets, requirements creep, testing timelines, and whether reform is moving fast enough.
Private and Public Partnerships
An honest dialogue between founders, investors, and the offices that fund early work — what works, what is missing, and what would move the needle.
How to Take This Work Forward
Synthesize the two days into concrete next steps for founders, investors, and acquirers. What happens after this room.
Closing Reception & Working Lunch
Final convening of the Forum. Founders, investors, and acquisition leaders carry the two days’ work into a working lunch and reception.
Speakers.
The 2026 Roster.
The organizations backing the Forum. Blue Yonder, Vannevar Labs, and Distributed Spectrum each run a live capability showcase on Day 1.
Sea StateGlobal Elevation StrategiesAttendance is by application.
Sept 28 & 29, 2026 · Apella, New York City. Apply to attend and the Forum team will be in touch.