260127_SYM2026 Registration Announcement

Accelerating Warfighting Capabilities

NPS 23rd Annual Acquisition Research Symposium & Innovation Summit

May 6-7, 2026​
​​​​​Virtual Event


Our annual event is the premier forum for advancing acquisition research and innovation in support of the warfighter. Every year, we bring together academic researchers, acquisition professionals, and defense service leaders for two days of exploration, discovery, and dialogue intended to inform acquisition policy and modernization efforts.  

Accelerating Warfighting Capabilities

In keeping with recent executive orders and Department memoranda, panels will explore and promote innovative ways to enhance readiness, deter adversaries, and increase warfighting capabilities by reviving our defense industrial base, reforming our acquisition process, and rapidly fielding emerging technologies. 

Attend Virtually from Anywhere in the World

This year's event will be fully virtual in order to ensure continuity of the event, maximize participation by senior leadership, presenters, and attendees, and reduce the risk of last-minute disruption. While we would prefer to meet in person, a virtual approach allows us to deliver the full substance and impact of the symposium in a secure, accessible, and resilient manner to stay aligned to current conditions and policy requirements.

This official unclassified sponsored event is free and open to the public.

Panels included:

  • Putting the Industrial Base on a Wartime Footing 
  • Engineering the Software-Defined Enterprise
  • Engineering Resilience in Contested Logistics
  • Accelerating Surge Capacity and Fleet Integration
  • Shaping the Future of Acquisition Talent 
  • Preserving Human Agency and Market Integrity in the AI Era 
  • Leveraging Acquisition for Strategic Advantage 
  • Scaling Modernization through New Funding and Engineering Models
  • Revitalizing Industrial Surge and Manufacturing Security
  • Collaborative Development for Immediate Warfighting Advantage
  • Reimagining Munitions Acquisition for the Industrial Age 
  • And many more!

Visit the symposium website!​​​​​​​

Harman testimony

"The symposium was extremely educational, fostering critical thinking and a robust exchange of ideas sparking creativity and new ways of thinking."
– Emily Harman, Former Director, Office of Small Business Programs, Department of the Navy