ASD Convention 2026

Europe's premier aerospace, defence and security industry gathering comes to Lisbon this April. The ASD Convention 2026, co-hosted with AED Cluster Portugal, convenes over 300 chief executives, policymakers and industry experts against a backdrop of profound strategic change.

Building on more than two decades of ASD Spring Conventions, and building on AED’s strong track record in convening the Portuguese aeronautics, space and defence community, this year's edition sets an ambitious new standard – combining high-level strategic dialogue with purpose-built networking to drive decisions, not just discussions.

The programme brings together Commissioners, senior political leaders, chief executives of major European primes, and leading SMEs for keynote addresses, expert-led panels and interactive sessions.

Topics span industrial strategy and procurement reform, to financing instruments, technological sovereignty and sustainable aviation. The Convention also celebrates Portugal's exceptional role in the European aerospace, defence and security ecosystem – a fitting stage for conversations that will shape the industry's next chapter.

The SME Programme is designed with one purpose: turning connections into contracts and ideas into scale. Innovative companies from across Europe will engage directly with prime contractors, EU and NATO institutional partners, investors and policymakers – cutting through the complexity of funding landscapes from the EDF and EDIP to the EIC Accelerator and NATO DIANA. Sessions move swiftly from policy to practice: participants will hear from companies that have navigated the path from start-up to strategic supply-chain partner, and explore how Portugal's own aerospace champions are setting the pace.

A dedicated Innovation Showcase provides a platform for European SMEs to demonstrate cutting-edge capabilities to an audience that has the authority to act on what it sees.

Boosting competitiveness and output through collaboration

The plenary programme examines what it truly means to Buy European and Build Together – addressing procurement reform, the architecture of defence funding under the next Multiannual Financial Framework, and the industrial lessons drawn from Ukraine.

And a dedicated session on civil aeronautics places the EU industrial strategy under the spotlight: how does Europe translate its undoubted strengths in sectors such as commercial aviation into lasting industrial power?

Cutting across both agendas are the dual-use technologies, cybersecurity imperatives and sustainability commitments that define the sector's future

Relationships forged at the ASD Convention have a track record of shaping partnerships and policy for years to come. This year's social programme is built to maximise that potential.

A dedicated SME networking breakfast opens the day, followed by a working lunch that allows delegates to pursue the morning's conversations. The gala dinner – hosted at a landmark Lisbon venue – brings the day's formal proceedings to a close in style, offering an unhurried setting in which senior executives, policymakers and institutional leaders can engage freely. For those joining for the first time, the Convention is as much about who you meet as what you hear.