The Air & Space Forces Association’s 2026 Warfare Symposium descended on the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center this week with more than 9,000 attendees, over 150 exhibitor booths, and 40-plus panels. For three days, the Department of the Air Force’s senior leadership laid out what they are calling the “Year of Readiness,” a framework that touches everything from sixth-generation fighter timelines to the future of space-based sensor fusion. Here is a comprehensive rundown of the major themes and announcements from Denver.
SECAF Meink Sets the Tone: Acquisition Transformation and B‑21 Acceleration
Secretary of the Air Force Troy E. Meink opened the symposium on February 23 with a keynote address focused on acquisition reform and modernization. The headline announcement was a $4.5 billion production deal with Northrop Grumman designed to accelerate B‑21 Raider bomber production by 25 percent. The deal, funded through the congressional reconciliation package known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” confirms that the B‑21 remains on schedule to arrive at its first operational base, Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, in 2027.
Meink also announced plans to establish approximately 27 “portfolio acquisition executives” across the Department of the Air Force, granting them far greater authority and responsibility over the full lifecycle of the systems they acquire. The goal is to shorten timelines and empower decision-makers who are closest to the programs, rather than running every decision through layers of bureaucracy. The message from Meink was clear: the traditional acquisition pipeline cannot keep pace with the threat environment, and the Department is restructuring to move faster.
Ringleader: The Sensor Fusion Exercise That Could Change Everything
Perhaps the most consequential announcement of the symposium was the unveiling of “Ringleader,” a new series of exercises designed to test the Department of the Air Force’s ability to fuse sensor data from across the entire Defense Department and translate it into actionable targeting information at speed and scale.
Air Force Secretary Meink introduced the concept during his keynote, and Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman elaborated in a subsequent roundtable. Saltzman described the effort as fundamentally about answering how battle management works when you are collecting data from a global constellation of sensors at volumes never before seen. The Air Force and Space Force will collaborate on modeling and simulation exercises to stress-test the DAF Battle Network, the infrastructure that connects sensors, processing systems, and shooters.
The Ringleader exercises will leverage the Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS), proliferated satellite architectures, and emerging moving target indication capabilities from both ground and airborne platforms. While Meink did not explicitly name the Golden Dome missile defense initiative, the connection is unmistakable. Space-based tracking, satellite sensor networks, and rapid transmission of targeting data are foundational to both Ringleader and the broader missile defense architecture the Pentagon is building.
Aviation Week reported that the findings from Ringleader could prove directly valuable to the Golden Dome effort, with Gen. Michael Guetlein, the Pentagon’s lead acquisition officer for the program, prioritizing integrated command and control as a near-term deliverable. Experimentation is expected to begin later this year, funded in part by the reconciliation bill and prior appropriations.
F‑47 On Track, CCAs Enter Weapons Testing
On the modernization front, Gen. Dale White confirmed that Boeing’s F‑47 sixth-generation fighter remains on track to fly within the next two years. The ambitious 2028 first-flight timeline, set just three years after the contract was awarded in March 2025, continues to hold. White, who serves in the newly created role of Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Critical Major Weapon Systems, told reporters the program is performing exceptionally well.
The Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program also marked significant milestones. The Air Force announced it has entered weapons testing on CCAs and plans to put them in the hands of operational Airmen for experimentation this summer. Anduril Industries revealed at the symposium that its YFQ-44A CCA flew with two different mission software systems during the same flight on February 24, a notable demonstration of software flexibility. General Atomics also made news by publicly naming its CCA: the Dark Merlin.
On the propulsion side, the Air Force awarded initial conceptual design contracts for CCA Increment 2 engines to four manufacturers, with Kratos/GE Aerospace securing a $12.4 million contract for their GEK1500 engine and Honeywell receiving a contract for its SkyShot 1600 small-thrust engine. These engines, producing thrust in the 800 to 2,800-pound range, are designed to power the next generation of CCAs and low-cost attritable munitions.
Space Force: Superiority, Kill Chains, and the Vulcan Problem
The Space Force had a prominent presence throughout the symposium. Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess, Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations, emphasized that space superiority is now a non-negotiable operational requirement. The Space Force is moving beyond legacy force generation models, implementing advanced training cycles designed to prepare Guardians for contested environments rather than routine operations.
The service is actively bolstering its contributions to long-range kill chains, the targeting architectures that industry and government agree the United States will need in any large-scale conflict. This includes development of space-based ground and airborne moving target indication sensors, a program that was previously classified under a budget line called “Long Range Kill Chain” and now carries approximately $1 billion in funding for fiscal year 2026.
However, the symposium also surfaced a significant setback. The Space Force announced it is pausing all military launches on United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket following an anomaly during the USSF-87 mission on February 12. The mission successfully delivered two GSSAP neighborhood watch satellites to orbit, but one of the solid rocket boosters emitted an unusual debris plume that is now under investigation. Col. Eric Zarybinsky, the program executive officer for assured access to space, told reporters that no national security missions will fly on Vulcan until the anomaly is resolved, a process that could take months. This is particularly problematic because the Vulcan was scheduled to carry a GPS III satellite in March and a next-generation missile warning satellite in May. Breaking Defense reported that ULA is working with Northrop Grumman, the booster supplier, to establish an investigation team, and that this is the second time Vulcan has experienced a similar booster anomaly. The Space Force may transfer some missions to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 to avoid cascading delays across the 2026 launch manifest.
Warfighting Readiness: The Panel That Set the Baseline
A February 24 panel titled “Reinforcing Warfighting and Personnel Readiness” brought together Under Secretary of the Air Force Matt Lohmeier, Lt. Gen. Schiess, and Lt. Gen. Case Cunningham, the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations. The panel’s central message was that everything the Department does must be viewed through the lens of warfighting readiness and lethality.
Lohmeier emphasized that readiness and modernization should not compete for resources. He announced that the Department is restoring critical readiness funding for sustainment, maintenance, and flying-hour programs. Fiscal year 2027, he said, will be the year of restoring foundational readiness accounts. He also stressed that acquisition reform and closer collaboration with industry are essential to delivering capabilities faster, noting the Department is incentivizing competition in ways it has not done before.
Cunningham identified three guiding priorities shaping operational readiness decisions: defending the homeland, deterring China, and maintaining global responsiveness. He reinforced that readiness begins with people and leadership at the unit level, and that commanders need to be empowered with resources and clear expectations.
Leaders from Buckley Space Force Base also underscored the operational importance of integrating air and space power during a separate panel, as the character of warfare continues to evolve. On a personal note, Buckley Space Force Base will always be a special place for me since it was my first duty station.
E‑7 Wedgetail: Still Unresolved
One of the more politically charged topics at the symposium was the future of the E‑7 Wedgetail airborne early warning aircraft. The Air Force signed a $2.5 billion deal with Boeing in 2024 for two prototypes, planning for a fleet of 26 to replace the aging E‑3 AWACS. But the Pentagon’s fiscal year 2026 budget request attempted to cancel the program entirely, citing rising costs and a belief that satellites could assume the targeting mission.
Congress intervened aggressively, blocking the cancellation and appropriating $1.1 billion for E‑7 prototypes in the 2026 defense bills. At the symposium, Secretary Meink pledged to execute the congressionally directed funding and deliver a plan for transitioning to engineering and manufacturing development aircraft, but he pointedly noted that delivering a plan does not mean committing to put it in the budget. The message was clear: the E‑7’s long-term future remains an open question between the Department and Congress.
Additional Developments Worth Watching
The symposium produced a steady stream of additional announcements. U.S. Space Command confirmed it will offer significant relocation bonuses to civilians moving to the command’s new headquarters in Huntsville, Alabama. Commercial satellite imagery analysis presented at the event revealed that China conducted a major five-week air exercise in late 2025 involving approximately 200 aircraft across eight bases and 1,200 nautical miles. Lockheed Martin announced plans to demonstrate on-orbit missile defense capabilities over the next three years. The Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard disclosed ongoing efforts to equalize benefits and status for reserve members serving alongside active-duty forces.
Mission Delta 9, the Space Force’s orbital warfare unit, received a live satellite for training, enabling Guardians to practice offensive and defensive maneuvers in actual space operations rather than simulations alone. And Ursa Major unveiled a new hypersonic missile designed for large-scale production with dual-use potential as both a weapon and a target vehicle.
Lt. Gen. Gregory Gagnon received the Gen. Jerome F. O’Malley Space Visionary Award from AFA, and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force David R. Wolfe delivered closing leadership remarks using the U.S. men’s hockey team’s Olympic gold medal overtime victory as a backdrop for his message about teamwork and perseverance under pressure.
The Mitchell Institute’s Lt. Gen. David Deptula (Ret.) provided an analysis breaking down why DAF leaders are calling this the “Year of Readiness” and why the Air Force faces a force-structure, age, and funding crisis.
The Bottom Line
The 2026 AFA Warfare Symposium was defined by urgency. From the B‑21 production acceleration to the Ringleader sensor fusion exercises, from the F‑47 and CCA milestones to the Vulcan launch pause, the message from Department of the Air Force leadership was consistent: the window for modernization and readiness investment is narrow, the threats are real, and the pace of execution must increase. Secretary Meink called these “once-in-a-generation opportunities to accelerate our progress.” The next twelve months will determine whether the Department can match that ambition with results.