Hear From These Thought Leaders
Speakers
Senior military commanders, government policymakers, and industry thought leaders sharing strategic intelligence across three focused conference days.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
To Be Announced
Senior Military / Government Leader
The AAD 2026 Conference will feature a high-profile keynote speaker drawn from the highest levels of Africa’s military, government and defence establishment. This opening address will set the strategic tone for the three-day programme – framing the key challenges and opportunities facing African defence forces and the continent’s security landscape.
Speaker confirmation coming soon. Register now to secure your place and receive updates.
ALL SPEAKERS
Speakers & Panelists
Founder
TerraNexus Space Innovations
Part-time Lecturer, Department of Political Sciences
University of Pretoria
CEO
Milkor UAE
Head of Marine Projects
Milkor UAE
Senior AI Officer
Cyber Security Institute
CEO
Milkor Saudi Arabia
Vice President: Africa
Milkor
Head of Customer Support Africa
Airbus
Executive Manager: Human Resources
Airlink
Chief Defence Analyst within the R&A Domain
Armscor
CEO
Rheinmetall Denel
Founder and Executive Director
Accord
Manager, Flight Safety & OHSE
Solenta
Senior Project Advisor
Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC)
Owner
Orion Consulting
Associate Professor, Department of Political Sciences
University of South Africa (UNISA)
Senior Incident Response Analyst
TrendAI
CEO
Unipro Protective Wear
Managing Director
Kershal Aviation; Director, The Drone Council of South Africa; President, Association of Aviation Training Organisations of South Africa (AATOSA), Director, Commercial Aviation Association of Southern Africa (CAASA)
South African Air Force (SAAF); Base Aviation Safety Coordinator
Air Force Base Makhado
Senior Analyst
Project Blue
Director
MFT Executive Advisory Services
Chief
South African National Defence Force (SANDF)
Senior Manager: Business Development
Dynamics SA
Deputy Chief
South African Airforce (SAAF)
COO
Armscor
Head of Business Development: West Africa
Milkor
Founder & Director
Neo Aviation
Chief
South African Air Force (SAAF)
Lesetja Mogoba, Space Committee Chairperson, South African Aerospace Maritime and Defence Industries (AMD);
Deputy Chair, Manufacturing, BRICS Business Council
BRICS Business Council
Chief Systems Engineer
Denel Integrated Systems Solutions
Advisor
Threeframes Pty Ltd
CEO
Swatek Defence & Aerospace; Chairperson, Women in Defence SA
Managing Director
Sparcx
Global Technology Director, Engineering & Technology
Babcock International Group
Director System Integrity
Department of Defence
Co-Founder & CEO
Astrofica Technologies; Board Member, South African National Space Agency (SANSA)
Founder & CEO
QP Drone Tech
International Marketing Manager, DCD Group; Chairperson
South African Aerospace Maritime and Defence Export Council (SAAMDEC)
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
SSASS Holdings
CEO
Project Boost
Researcher, Ocean Regions Programme
University of Pretoria
Marketing Support Officer
Twiga
Senior Logistics Engineer: Research and Development
Armscor
Regional Sales Manager
Pratt & Whitney Canada
Chairperson, Marketing Committee
Aerospace, Maritime & Defence Industries Association of South Africa (AMD)
HR Executive
Federal Airlines
Impact Area Manager: Technology for Special Operations
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
Executive Chairman and CTO
Ubinadamu Group
Head of Sales and Marketing
HENSOLDT GEW
CEO
Alt Academy Group
Independent aviation expert; former Chief Director
Civil Aviation
Specialist in Conflict, Peace and Security Studies in Africa
War Correspondent, Author, Journalist and Professional Speaker
Executive Chair
South African Defence Group
