The Future of War and the Defence of Freedom in an Age of Strategic Transformation

On 20–21 May 2026, Athens will host the inaugural Athens Defence Summit (ADS), a high-level international platform dedicated to the defence of freedom, the future of warfare, and the renewal of alliances in an era of accelerating technological and geopolitical change.

The Summit is held under the auspices of the Hellenic Ministry of National Defence, the Hellenic Defence Systems and the Hellenic Aerospace Industry.

As artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, aerospace capability, and industrial power reshape the character of conflict, ADS convenes political leadership, military command, defence industry, and strategic thinkers to examine how democratic nations preserve sovereignty and sustain credible deterrence. The Summit addresses not only how wars are fought, but how freedom is defended — through structure, capability, and alliance.

Confirmed transatlantic and European participants include Frans Timmermans, former Executive Vice-President of the European Commission and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands; General Sir Ralph Wooddisse, Commander of NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps; Gus Bilirakis, Member of the United States House of Representatives; Ehud Olmert, former Prime Minister of Israel; General Sir Nick Carter, former Chief of the Defence Staff of the United Kingdom and Distinguished Fellow of the Hoover Institution; as well as Andrés Pastrana, former President of Colombia and President of the Christian Democrat International; Gilles Kepel, Special Envoy of President Emmanuel Macron for the Mediterranean; Matthew Boyle, Washington Bureau Chief of Breitbart News; and European Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas, among other senior leaders.

These discussions will focus on the evolution of transatlantic defence cooperation, the integration of AI and advanced technologies into military doctrine, the restructuring of deterrence architectures, and the strategic cohesion of democratic alliances under conditions of renewed great power competition.

A central pillar of the Summit is its engagement with Africa and the wider region. Senior figures including Monica Juma, National Security Advisor of Kenya; General Robert Kariuki Kibochi, former Chief of the Defence Staff of Kenya; Dr. Greg Mills, The Strategic Advisor to the President of Zambia and Member of the Board of RUSI; Mohamed Yusuf Ali, Minister of Defence of Somaliland; and Shoresh Ismail Abdulla, Minister of Peshmerga Affairs of the Kurdistan Regional Government, will examine regional security architecture, defence modernisation, maritime stability, and the strategic implications of external rivalry across the Horn of Africa and the broader Middle East. ADS treats these regions as central to the emerging global balance of power.

The Athens Defence Summit will also feature as speakers the competent Ministers of the Hellenic Government: Nikos Dendias, Minister of National Defence; Kyriakos Pierrakakis, President of the Eurogroup and Minister of National Economy and Finance; Adonis Georgiadis, Minister of Health; Stavros Papastavrou, Minister of Environment and Energy; Dimitris Papastergiou, Minister of Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence; Vassilis Kikilias, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy; as well as the heads of the country’s two state-owned defence industries: Christoforos Boutsikakis, Chief Executive Officer of Hellenic Defence Systems, and Alexandros Diakopoulos, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hellenic Aerospace Industry.

Additionally, confirmed speakers include the Vice President of the European Investment Bank, Yannis Tsakiris; the Deputy CEO of the Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations, Panos Staboulidis; and the Special Secretary for Foresight of the Presidency of the Government, Yannis Mastrogeorgiou.

Convened at the crossroads of Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, Africa, and the Gulf, the Athens Defence Summit is designed for geopolitical substance rather than spectacle.

The Athens Defence Summit advances a clear proposition: freedom endures only when defended through strategic clarity, industrial strength, and renewed alignment among allies.