This blog is part of a series about the 2026 Special Air Warfare Symposium, taking place in Ft. Walton Beach, FL, from 10 – 12 FEB 2026.
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If Day 1 was about setting the stage, Day 2 of the 2026 Special Air Warfare Symposium (SAWS) was about designing the future. The energy in the Emerald Coast Convention Center remained high as we moved from “what is happening now” to “what needs to happen next.”
From deep dives into Force Design to a direct line to the frontlines of Ukraine—Wednesday delivered on all fronts.
Defining the North Star
Thursday kicked off with our SOF Champion Sponsor and Master of Ceremonies, Mr. Edward Spenceley, Senior Vice President at Bank of America. He provided opening comments as attendees filtered into the event, looking forward to another day of learning and connecting.
The main stage then welcomed Lieutenant General David A. Harris, Deputy Chief of Staff, Air Force Futures. In a presentation that had the room buzzing, Lt. Gen. Harris walked attendees through the concept of “Force Design.”
He noted that the first step was to “define the threat, and we loosely agree on what that is, which made the whole force design worth it”. He emphasized that the “North Star” is a group of people looking to the future to determine gaps, specifically highlighting the need to upgrade nuclear infrastructure and the vital importance of logistics.
The feedback on this keynote was immediate. As GSOF President and CEO Stu Bradin noted, “He is one of the best speakers we’ve had at one of our events”.
Following the keynote, we shifted gears for a powerful virtual session titled “Effect of Autonomy on Air Warfare” with Commander Robert Brovdi of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Despite a few technical hiccups—it wouldn’t be a hybrid tech session without a QR code mystery or some translator overlap—the message came through loud and clear. Commander Brovdi provided a sobering look at the density of the front line, noting that pilots are working 1.5 to 3 kilometers from the front and that “the war has changed, and will never go back to what it was before”.
He emphasized that while Ukraine has become an “unprecedented leader in warfare” regarding drones, they need more than just UAVs—specifically citing the need for spectrum analyzers to track enemy systems.
The Inaugural SOF Solutions Stage
The SOF Solutions Stage was a new feature introduced inside the SAWS 2026 Exhibit Hall. It was designed to offer industry partners and innovators a platform for short, high-impact promotional presentations.
The stage hosted nearly 20 presentations over the course of the symposium. Each slot consisted of a 10-minute session delivered by a single presenter, strategically positioned between general session blocks to maximize visibility, traffic, and engagement with the audience.
While it appears that our attendees have an aversion to sitting in the “theater” we created in front of the stage (the stools weren’t THAT low), we saw many of you watching from the wings and hopefully learning from one another.
The following companies presented on the SOF Solutions Stage:
- Omni Federal
- Viasat
- Lockheed Martin
- L3Harris
- Silvus Technologies
- Glenair
- Regent Craft
- Teledyne
- Babel Street
- Zignal Labs
- KOR Technik
- Ametrine
- Trac9
- Pivotal Aero
- Sherpa 6
- Accrete AI
- Connectium Technologies
- NV5 Geospatial
Learn more about each of these organizations (and their solutions!) here: https://saws.gsofsymposium.org/sof-solutions-stage/
Taking to the Skies
In the afternoon, we had a great session that featured Major General (Ret.) Mark “Droopy” Clark and Colonel Justin T. Bronder (PEO Fixed Wing, USSOCOM).
The conversation emphasized that successful acquisition starts with culture and relationships rather than just tools. Colonel Bronder noted that industry partners need to “do their homework” before SOF Week and be ready to flex to solve problems, aiming to make warfighters more lethal and get them home safely.
As with all things, these events ofen have last minute changes…and this next panel really came through for us big time after a speaker cancellation.
“The Modern Conflict: Drones and Congested Logistics” was pulled together just this week on Monday, and we are incredibly grateful to these speakers for agreeing to hit the main stage at final hour.
This panel, featuring Mr. David Yost (ManTech), Ms. Maria Jakobsen (Renegade), and Mr. Chad McCoy (Firestorm), discussed everything from the drones themselves to the supply chain. Topics covered included:
- Logistics: “Contested logistics only exist if you wait ’til there’s a contest”.
- Training: The current two-week training cycle for drone operators in Ukraine is considered too long.
- Prototyping: The need to rapidly prototype to create the next revolution in warfare will not end.
The final session of SAWS 2026 tackled the critical need for persistent surveillance. The panel “ISR That Lasts: Meeting the Need for Persistent Eyes and Ears” featured a diverse lineup, including Brigadier General William C. Freeman (Director of Operations, AFSOC), Mr. Matthew Parsons (Harmattan AI), and security consultant Mr. Ed Calderon.
We were also fortunate enough to get a last minute panel addition, a Colonel from AFSOC Intelligence (so last minute, we aren’t sure what her name is!).
This panel explored the critical shift occurring within the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) landscape. The discussion highlighted that the primary challenge in current warfare is no longer a lack of data, but rather an overabundance of it. “We’re in a world that’s full of sensors.”
Because of this saturation, the key to success is no longer just collection; it is the ability to take the massive volume of intelligence and organize it effectively to enable decision-making.
It was a fascinating discussion, especially hearing a boots on the ground perspective of the cartel war in Mexico–we even had some crowd work get started as attendees couldn’t help but try to weigh in!
The Takeaways – From Stu!
Stu Bradin, President and CEO of Global SOF, rounded out the event with his major take-aways from the week.I wanted to share some quick take-aways that I saw from what we talked about in this room, in the exhibition, and at the networking socials:
- First – If you don’t know your value proposition to the joint force, you can’t articulate it to your audience and you can’t achieve it. If you can’t tell yourself why it matters, you certainly won’t be able to get anything done in the SOF community.
- SOF Aviation is the fastest growing part of SOF. Convening this community at venues like this remains vital, and I don’t see that changing any time soon.
- I know we talked a lot today about tech, and how much it’s changing. So I just want to highlight that any opportunity to introduce new technology to government cannot be wasted, and it needs to happen as often as possible.
- This next one came from one of the committee meetings, but I’ve heard it throughout the week: Federation is more preferable than integration. It’s more important to be fast and efficient than perfect.
- And lastly, I want to make sure that you all listen to what AFSOC and USASOAC are asking for…Don’t just tell them what you can do or what you think they need, actually listen to their problem sets first.
We are sure you all have take-aways as well… and we’d love to hear about them! If you have something to share, please be sure to take the Attendee Survey, and most importantly–thank you for being here!
Day 1 at 2026 Special Air Warfare Symposium
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