Where was DefSec 2026 held?

DefSec 2026 took place in Vantaa, FIN.

What kind of event was DefSec 2026?

DefSec 2026 was a defense and security event, focusing on industry developments and strategic discussions in Vantaa, FIN.

DefSec 2026

Name: DefSec 2026
Start: 2026-05-05T00:00:00Z
End: 2026-05-05T00:00:00Z
Location: Vantaa

May 5, 2026Vantaa, FinlandIn-person

Registration open

DefSec 2026 was a significant defense and security event held in Vantaa, Finland. This gathering served as a platform for stakeholders across the defense industry to discuss emerging challenges and technological advancements. The event's location in Finland, a nation with a strong focus on national security and technological innovation, provided a pertinent backdrop for these discussions.

Committees & topics

Topics
Innovation and Technology as the New Defence Frontier · Building Total Resilience Across Society and Industry

Why it matters

The DefSec event series is crucial for understanding the evolving landscape of global security. It brings together key players from government, industry, and academia to address pressing issues such as cyber warfare, hybrid threats, and the integration of artificial intelligence into defense systems. The discussions and collaborations fostered at such events are vital for shaping future defense strategies and ensuring national and international security.

Furthermore, events like DefSec highlight the importance of international cooperation in addressing complex security challenges. In an increasingly interconnected world, no single nation can effectively tackle all threats alone. These forums facilitate the exchange of ideas, best practices, and technological solutions, contributing to a more resilient global security framework. The emphasis on innovation and collaboration underscores the dynamic nature of modern defense and the continuous need for adaptation and foresight.

How to prepare

To effectively engage with the themes presented at DefSec, delegates would benefit from a robust understanding of contemporary geopolitical dynamics and technological trends in defense. Familiarity with concepts such as "deterrence by resilience" and the role of the "European Defence Fund (EDF)" would be particularly useful. Analyzing the "science, technology, and innovation policy (STIP)" of participating nations, especially FIN, would also provide valuable context.

Delegates could also prepare by conducting a "stakeholder mapping workshop" to identify key actors and their interests within the defense sector. Understanding "engagement strategies" and recognizing "hidden stakeholders" are critical for navigating complex discussions and forming effective partnerships. A "dynamic analysis" of current security threats, including those relevant to the Nordic region, would further enhance preparedness for the event's discussions.

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 4 countries stand on the core issues in play. Click through for the full country profile.

Finland

Host nation with a strong focus on national defense and technological innovation.

Role in topic

As the host nation, FIN plays a central role in facilitating discussions on defense and security. Its strategic location and advanced technological capabilities make it a key player in Nordic and European security. FIN's perspective often emphasizes preparedness, technological self-sufficiency, and international cooperation in defense matters.

United States

Major global defense actor, often a source of advanced defense technologies and strategic partnerships.

Role in topic

The USA is a significant participant in global defense forums, bringing expertise in advanced military technologies and strategic planning. Its involvement often centers on promoting interoperability, sharing intelligence, and fostering alliances to counter global threats. The USA's perspective is crucial for understanding broader international security trends.

Sweden

Key Nordic partner with a focus on defense innovation and regional security.

Role in topic

SWE, as a neighboring Nordic country, shares many security concerns with FIN. Its defense industry is known for innovation, and its participation often highlights regional security cooperation, advanced defense systems, and contributions to international peacekeeping efforts. SWE's perspective is vital for understanding Nordic defense integration.

Germany

Significant European defense contributor, emphasizing European security and technological collaboration.

Role in topic

DEU is a major economic and political power in Europe, with a growing role in defense. Its contributions to events like DefSec often focus on strengthening European defense capabilities, promoting collaborative research and development through initiatives like the "European Defence Fund (EDF)", and addressing regional security challenges. DEU's perspective is key to understanding the future of European defense.

Topics & background

The background behind each topic and the actors that shape it.

Innovation and Technology as the New Defence Frontier

The character of modern defence has been reshaped by the accelerating convergence of artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, quantum computing, cyber capabilities, and space-based assets. The war in Ukraine since 2022 has served as a live demonstration of how commercial drones, satellite imagery from providers such as Starlink and Maxar, and AI-enabled targeting can compress decision cycles and blur the line between civilian and military technology. At the same time, great-power competition — particularly between the United States and China — has triggered export controls on advanced semiconductors, the US CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, the EU Chips Act, and a wave of national AI and defence innovation strategies (DARPA, DIU, China's Military-Civil Fusion, the UK's Defence AI Strategy, and NATO's DIANA accelerator and Innovation Fund). The core dispute is twofold. First, how should states regulate emerging military technologies — particularly Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS), which have been debated in the CCW Group of Governmental Experts since 2014 without binding outcome, and dual-use AI whose civilian and military applications are inseparable. Second, how should liberal democracies and authoritarian states each secure access to critical inputs (chips, rare earths, talent, cloud compute) without ceding strategic advantage. The 2023 Bletchley Declaration on AI safety, the 2024 REAIM summits in The Hague and Seoul, and ongoing UN Secretary-General reporting on AI in the military domain illustrate the search for governance norms outside formal arms-control treaties. Today, defence ministries are pivoting from platform-centric procurement toward software-defined, attritable, and networked systems, while standing up dedicated innovation units to shorten the path from start-up to battlefield. The unresolved questions before this committee concern meaningful human control, verification of autonomy thresholds, protection of undersea cables and space assets, supply-chain security for semiconductors, and the degree to which technological superiority can substitute for mass — a debate sharpened by Russian, Chinese, Iranian, and North Korean advances in hypersonics, counter-space weapons, and offensive cyber.

Key players

Building Total Resilience Across Society and Industry

The concept of "total resilience" — sometimes called total defence, comprehensive defence, or whole-of-society security — has migrated from Cold War-era Nordic and Singaporean doctrines back into mainstream strategic thought. Triggering events include the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the subsequent weaponisation of energy supplies, sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, repeated incidents involving undersea cables in the Baltic, ransomware attacks on hospitals and ports, and climate-driven disasters that have strained civil-protection systems. NATO's 2022 Strategic Concept and the 2023 Vilnius Summit elevated resilience as a core task alongside deterrence, and the EU has built out instruments such as the Critical Entities Resilience Directive (CER), NIS2, and the Critical Raw Materials Act. The core challenge is that modern vulnerabilities — energy grids, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, financial messaging systems, data centres, ports, and food supply chains — are overwhelmingly owned and operated by the private sector and routed across borders. Resilience therefore requires unprecedented coordination between defence ministries, civilian regulators, industry, and citizens. Models vary: Finland's Comprehensive Security framework and Sweden's revived totalförsvar emphasise statutory civilian obligations; Singapore's Total Defence has six pillars including digital and psychological defence; the United States has invested in the Defense Production Act and CHIPS Act to reshore critical manufacturing; while Japan and South Korea have passed economic-security legislation to screen investment and protect key technologies. Key unresolved questions include how to fund and mandate private-sector resilience without undermining competitiveness, how to counter foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) while protecting civil liberties, how to secure undersea and space infrastructure that lies beyond any single jurisdiction, and how to maintain public trust and conscription-readiness in societies with low threat perception. The committee must weigh whether resilience is best pursued through binding regulation, voluntary public-private partnership, or alliance-level standards.

Key players