DIRECTED ENERGY SYMPOSIUM 2026

The 9th Annual Directed Energy Symposium will convene leading experts, policymakers, senior leaders, and innovators across the Directed Energy community to explore the latest advancements and applications in directed energy systems and technologies supporting the Warfighter and national defense objectives. Discussions at the event will provide valuable insights into the evolving landscape of directed energy warfare and the associated opportunities and challenges. This Symposium arrives at an inflection point for the directed energy enterprise; DoW has moved past proof of concept and declared directed energy operationally mature and a critical technology for national defense. As such, this Symposium will explore efforts towards scaling, sustaining, and fighting with directed energy. This year's Symposium will convene the most senior government, military, and research voices in the directed energy enterprise to confront that challenge directly. The 9th Annual event will examine the full spectrum of what it takes to operationalize directed energy at scale from the Navy’s vision for a laser-equipped fleet and the Army's race to field the E-HEL, to the Missile Defense Agency's pursuit of DE for homeland missile defense. Sessions will address the critical enabling technologies still required, thermal management, adaptive optics and beam control, atmospheric characterization, as well as the acquisition reforms, joint requirements alignment, and test and evaluation frameworks needed to move DE programs from successful prototype demonstrations to confident fielding decisions. Panelists will hear firsthand on HPMs, Survivability in Directed Energy, Test & Evaluation, and Thermal Management and Optical Innovation. The Symposium will also examine directed energy's most urgent operational imperative: defeating the drone and loitering munition threat at a cost the joint force can sustain.