2026 Defense IT Recap

The Department of the Navy’s Innovation Adoption Kit is accelerating the evaluation, acquisition and scaling of emerging technologies across the enterprise. CTO Justin Fanelli discussed how the IAK prioritizes outcomes over obstacles and helps the service and its partners move faster, modernize smarter and deliver mission-ready capabilities at speed.

Featured Speaker:

• Justin Fanelli, CTO, Department of the Navy

The Pentagon’s plan to overhaul defense acquisition centers speed and impact to more quickly deploy and field essential military technology. DOW Senior Advisor for Supply Chain Keely Galloway discussed the structural changes to the new strategy, including streamlining requirements and reforming the protest process.

Featured Speaker:

• Keely Galloway, Senior Advisor for Supply Chain, OSW, DOW

AI is reshaping national security to safeguard critical infrastructure, train warfighters and systems, and deploy tech more quickly. Officials addressed the critical implementation challenges the DOW faces in moving AI from pilot projects and labs to operational capability at the speed required for decision advantage. Experts explored AI uses cases, the rise of agentic systems and other strategies to bring emerging technology into the national security ecosystem.

Featured Speakers:

• Maj. Christopher Clark, AI Lead, Deputy Commandant for Information, Service Data Office, Marine Corps
• Srini Iyer, Health & Services Chief Technology Officer, SVP, Leidos
• Guy Kiyokawa, VP, Account Manager, Dept of War Personnel & Readiness and Military Health System, Leidos
• Jaques Reifman, Senior Research Scientist, Medical Research and Development Command, DHA

With a federal mandate to implement zero-trust architectures by fiscal 2027, the DOW has made significant strides across services to advance its cyber posture. Defense IT leaders broke down the policies and implementation progress that are boosting cyber resiliency and protecting defense networks.

Featured Speakers:

• Marlin McFate, Public Sector CTO/CISO, Cohesity
• Dave Raley, Chief Digital Business Officer, Marine Corps Community Services
• Shery Thomas, Enterprise IT Officer, Navy Installations Command
• Chris Wallace, Chief of Cybersecurity, PEO DHMS

War Department officials are reevaluating and modernizing IT resources to strengthen mission execution against rapidly advancing national security threats. Officials highlighted how agencies are driving progress in wireless connectivity, cloud adoption, CMMC compliance, research and development, DevSecOps integration and enterprise risk-management approaches to stay ahead of adversaries.

Featured Speakers:

• Stephen Gordon, Strategic Accounts Director for DOD, Red Hat
• Col. Scott Humr, Deputy Director for Science & Technology, Joint Interagency Task Force 401
• John Repici, Director, Vulnerability Disclosure Program, DC3

The Flywheel Awards recognize leaders and their work in the federal government.

Categories include: Rising Star, Emerging Tech Innovator, Cyber Defender, Digital Transformer and Data Advocate.

AI Summit Flywheel Award Winners:

• Rising Star: Jessica Stillman, Program Manager, xTech, US Army

• Emerging Tech Innovator: Justin Fanelli, CTO, United States Department of the Navy

• Cyber Defender: Brig. Gen. Reid Novotny, CAIO, U.S. Cyber Command

• Digital Transformer: Cmdr. Jonathan White, Cloud and Data Branch Chief, U.S. Coast Guard

• Data Advocate: Col. Arlon Smith, Director, Project Dynamis, United States Marine Corps

The Pentagon is accelerating data modernization to enable mission leaders to access and act on information faster. This panel examined how the military services are connecting disparate networks, improving data quality, enabling interoperability, and leveraging AI and analytics to transform decision-making across defense operations.

Featured Speakers:

• Michael Frank, Deputy CTO, Department of the Navy
• Lt. Col. Benjamin Pimentel, Assured C2 Lead, Project Dynamis, Marine Corps
• Bryan Thomas, VP, US Public Sector, Everpure

Pentagon science and technology leader Jake Glassman discussed how the department is reorganizing around new critical technology priority areas that prioritize speed and efficiency. He highlighted how artificial intelligence is paving the way for changing how the department operationalizes technology.

Featured Speaker:

• Jacob Glassman, Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Science and Technology Foundations, DOW