AGENDA
The Conversations That Will Shape The Future of Defense Capability
Hear from senior government, industry, and program leaders at MDIS 2026. This year’s agenda will be packed—check back often for newly added sessions and speakers.
Watch for new sessions and speakers as they are added.
Day 1
April 8, 2026
Mission Foundation
8:00 AM
Registration & Networking Breakfast
8:00 AM
-
9:00 AM
9:00 AM
Opening Ceremony | National Anthem
9:00 AM
-
9:05 AM
Christopher Wilburn
ARI
9:05 AM
Welcome & Summit Overview
9:05 AM
-
9:10 AM
Andrew Kossack
CEO, ARI
9:10 AM
Crossroads | How A Warfighter’s Innovation Built An Economy
9:10 AM
-
9:30 AM
Mitch Frazier
President of IBJ Media
9:30 AM
Opening Address: Midwest & National Defense
9:30 AM
-
9:45 AM
Gov. Mike Braun
Governor, Indiana
9:45 AM
Achieving Drone Dominance for the American Warfighter
9:45 AM
-
10:30 AM
LTC Matthew Limeberry
Commander, Rapid Assessment of Prototype Technology Readiness (RAPTR)Task Force
Director, Technology Readiness Experimentation (T-REX)
OUSW R&E
LTC Jarvis Buchanan
Corporate Venture Team, Army Applications Laboratory
Mitchell L. Haag
Drone Dominance Project Lead, MXP
NAVSEA Crane
Brett Hamilton
Microelectronics Sr. Technical Fellow, Kratos Defense
10:30 AM
Networking Break | Exhibit Hall Open
10:30 AM
-
11:00 AM
11:00 AM
Guest Speaker | Lieutenant General (Ret.) Thomas Bostick
11:00 AM
-
11:30 AM
Lieutenant General (Ret.) Thomas Bostick
Senior Military Leader & Author
11:30 AM
Fireside Chat | LTG Bostick
11:30 AM
-
11:50 AM
Mitch Frazier
President of IBJ Media
Lieutenant General (Ret.) Thomas Bostick
Senior Military Leader & Author
11:55 AM
Lunch & Networking | Exhibit Hall Open
11:55 AM
-
1:00 PM
1:00 PM
Keynote: Speed, Scale & Disruption
1:00 PM
-
1:30 PM
Hon. Michael Dodd
Assistant Secretary of War for Critical Technologies
1:40 PM
Keynote | Jerry Hendrix
1:40 PM
-
2:10 PM
Dr. Henry J. "Jerry" Hendrix
Deputy to the Associate Director for
Defense, Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) and Chief of the OMB
Shipbuilding Office
2:25 PM
Networkig Break
2:25 PM
-
2:55 PM
2:55 PM
Panel | Strategic Competition & the Future Fight
2:55 PM
-
3:25 PM
Jess Resig, PhD
VP, Solutions Innovations, ARI
Jennifer Thabet
Program Director, Small Business Programs Office, DARPA
John McCanney
Director, SBIR/STTR Transitions, DoW Office for Small Business Innovation
Devin L. Bohanan
Program Manager,
Accelerate the Procurement & Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT)
3:25 PM
Fireside Chat: Iron Nation / Prometheus Energetics
3:25 PM
-
3:55 PM
Mitch Frazier
President of IBJ Media
Dan Merenda
COO, Prometheus Energetics
Jason Wolf
Managing Partner & Co-Founder, Iron Nation
3:55 PM
Day One Reflection | Closing Remarks
3:55 PM
-
4:05 PM
Andrew Kossack
CEO, ARI
2:10 PM
Fireside Chat | Shipbuilding
2:10 PM
-
2:25 PM
Dr. Henry J. "Jerry" Hendrix
Deputy to the Associate Director for
Defense, Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) and Chief of the OMB
Shipbuilding Office
Day 2
April 9, 2026
Mission Acceleration
8:00 AM
Doors Open & Breakfast Networking
8:00 AM
-
8:00 AM
8:35 AM
8:35 AM
Opening Remarks: Recap & Focus
8:35 AM
-
8:35 AM
8:45 AM
Andrew Kossack
CEO, ARI
8:45 AM
Opening Keynote: Illusion of Innovation
8:45 AM
-
8:45 AM
9:05 AM
Elliott Parker
CEO at Alloy Partners, author of The Illusion of Innovation
9:05 AM
Fireside Chat | Illusion of Innovation
9:05 AM
-
9:05 AM
9:25 AM
Mitch Frazier
President of IBJ Media
Elliott Parker
CEO at Alloy Partners, author of The Illusion of Innovation
9:25 AM
The Role of DoW Labs in the Defense Ecosystem | Collaboration, Not Competition
9:25 AM
-
9:25 AM
10:05 AM
Dr. Kyle Werner
Deputy Technical Director for NSWC Crane
Mike Johns
SVP, Kratos SRE
Lawrence Buja, PhD
Chief Program Development Officer, Purdue University Office of Research
Sean Fortener
Co-Founder & President, Seagate Space
10:15 AM
Panel | Midwest Proving Grounds & Test Beds
10:15 AM
-
10:15 AM
10:55 AM
Major General (Ret.) Dale Lyles
National Security & Defense Expert, Executive Advisor, ARI
John McGunnigle
Co-Founder, Spear.AI
Greg McGuire
Managing Director, MCity
Matthew Brackenhoff
Lead, Advanced UxS Proving Grounds (AUxS-PG)
NSWC Crane
11:00 AM
Fireside Chat | Delivering the Mission
11:00 AM
-
11:00 AM
11:45 AM
Andrew Kossack
CEO, ARI
Hon. Todd Young
United States Senator (IN)
11:45 AM
Lunch | Session Transition
11:45 AM
-
11:45 AM
1:15 PM
12:30 PM
Luncheon Panel | Tech Funding
12:30 PM
-
12:30 PM
1:10 PM
Jeron Peoples
Managing Director, ARC
Nick Breedlove
Co-Founder, BBK Capital
Tanveer Kathawalla
Founder & Managing Partner, Pioneer1890
Milad Alucozai
Co-Found & Partner, Pamir Ventures
1:15 PM
Keynote | Raj Shah
1:15 PM
-
1:15 PM
1:45 PM
Raj Shah
Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Shield Captial
1:45 PM
Lightning Talk: Indiana Research Consortium
1:45 PM
-
1:45 PM
2:00 PM
James Stewart, PhD
Distinguished Scientist for Disruptive EMS S&T; SSTM, NSWC Crane
Lawrence Buja, PhD
Chief Program Development Officer, Purdue University Office of Research
Edward Maginn
Associate VP for Research, University of Notre Dame
Scott Bullock
Director, Applied Research Center (ARC), Indiana University
2:00 PM
Legislative Fireside Chat
2:00 PM
-
2:00 PM
2:15 PM
Gerry Dick
President, Inside INdiana Business
Rep. Steve Bartels - IN
State Representative, IN
Gavin Laffoon
Max Engling
2:30 PM
Closing Remarks
2:30 PM
-
2:30 PM
2:45 PM
Andrew Kossack
CEO, ARI