# Intelligence and Defense Conferences **Entity class:** Event ecosystem and routing hub **As of:** 2026-09-23 ## Definition **Intelligence and Defense Conferences** is the routing entry for the public, controlled-access, classified, invitation-only, and field-experimentation venues through which the United States intelligence, defense, cybersecurity, geospatial, cryptologic, and special-operations communities exchange requirements and evaluate capabilities. These venues perform different functions. A trade show exposes a broad market; a classified symposium permits cleared discussion; an industry day communicates an agency's acquisition needs; and an operational experiment places technology in a representative environment. Treating all four as ordinary conferences hides the public-private machinery by which requirements, prototypes, data architectures, and operational lessons move between government and industry. ## Event map - **Classified intelligence:** [[wiki/AFCEA Spring Intelligence Symposium|AFCEA Spring Intelligence Symposium]], [[wiki/DIA TECHINT Conference|DIA TECHINT Conference]], and [[wiki/Collaborative EW|Collaborative EW]]. - **Flagship public-private convenings:** [[wiki/Intelligence and National Security Summit|Intelligence and National Security Summit]], [[wiki/DoDIIS Worldwide Conference|DoDIIS Worldwide Conference]], [[wiki/GEOINT Symposium|GEOINT Symposium]], [[wiki/Air, Space & Cyber Conference|Air, Space & Cyber Conference]], [[wiki/SOF Week|SOF Week]], and [[wiki/AFCEA TechNet Indo-Pacific|AFCEA TechNet Indo-Pacific]]. - **Specialized communities:** [[wiki/OSINT Foundation Tech Expo|OSINT Foundation Tech Expo]], [[wiki/ISS World|ISS World]], [[wiki/National Cryptologic Foundation Anniversary Events|National Cryptologic Foundation Anniversary Events]], [[wiki/Billington CyberSecurity Summit|Billington CyberSecurity Summit]], [[wiki/AOC International Symposium and Convention|AOC International Symposium and Convention]], [[wiki/Black Hat USA|Black Hat USA]], and [[wiki/DEF CON|DEF CON]]. - **Invitation and philanthropic network:** [[wiki/Spookstock|Spookstock]]. - **Demonstration and experimentation:** [[wiki/Project Convergence|Project Convergence]], [[wiki/Experimental Demonstration Gateway Event|Experimental Demonstration Gateway Event]], [[wiki/Thunderstorm Technology Demonstration and Experimentation|Thunderstorm Technology Demonstration and Experimentation]], [[wiki/USSOCOM Technical Experimentation Events|USSOCOM Technical Experimentation Events]], [[wiki/NGA Industry Days and Technology Showcases|NGA Industry Days and Technology Showcases]], and [[wiki/DARPA Electronics Resurgence Initiative Summit|DARPA Electronics Resurgence Initiative Summit]]. ## Relationships - **collection route:** [[collections/Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and the Intelligence Environment|Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and the Intelligence Environment]]. - **institutional function:** [[wiki/Public-Private Intelligence Ecosystem|Public-Private Intelligence Ecosystem]] and [[wiki/Intelligence Technology Acquisition|Intelligence Technology Acquisition]]. - **access layer:** [[wiki/Sensitive Compartmented Information|Sensitive Compartmented Information]], citizenship restrictions, invitations, sponsorship, and edition-specific registration rules determine who can enter each venue. ## Sources / Provenance - [AFCEA International events](https://www.afcea.org/events) - [DIA — DoDIIS Worldwide](https://www.dia.mil/News-Features/DoDIIS-Worldwide/) - [USSOCOM — Technical Experimentation](https://www.socom.mil/SOF-ATL/technical_experimentation)