Joint Air and Space Power Conference 2025

Panel 3

Reshaping NATO’s Innovation Cycles

This panel will focus on how NATO can accelerate its innovation cycles to maintain a competitive edge on today’s rapidly changing battlefield. Participants will discuss options for streamlining NATO’s procurement processes and enhancing collaboration between industry and military stakeholders to foster a culture of experimentation, rapid prototyping, and novel manufacturing and logistical methods. Experts will also discuss interoperability and standardization challenges and solutions related to integrating potential new technologies across existing forces, ensuring seamless operation in a complex threat environment.

Related Read Ahead Essays

Reshaping NATO’s Innovation Cycles

The rapid emergence of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, hypersonic weapons, and cyber warfare capabilities, has drastically transformed the battlefield at an unprecedented pace. Traditional military procurement and innovation cycles are often slow and bureaucratic, making it difficult for NATO to keep up with adversaries that leverage agile development strategies. This inertia risks leaving Alliance forces with outdated equipment, hindering interoperability, and ultimately jeopardizing personnel safety. To maintain strategic superiority, NATO must fundamentally reshape its innovation...

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Speakers

Mr

Johannes Arlt

STARK Systems
Senior Vice President
From 2021 to 2025, Arlt served as a member of the German Bundestag for the Social Democratic Party (SPD). During his parliamentary tenure, he sat on the Defence and Economic Affairs Committee, contributing to national security policy, defence procurement oversight, and economic strategy.
Mr

James Black

RAND Europe
Deputy Director of Defence and Security Research
Mr. Black has directed and contributed to studies for various national and international clients, including NATO, the European Union, the UK, the U.S., Germany, and Australia’s defence ministries. His expertise covers artificial intelligence, autonomous military systems, and space warfare.
Major General

Maik Keller

German Army
Deputy Commander, NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU)
Major General Keller’s operational experience spans through the UN, NATO, and national deployments, and he currently serves as the Deputy Commander of the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU), headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany.
Mr

Robert Kerby

Planet Labs
Head of Business Development, Defence & Intelligence EMEA
With a UK military background, he brings operational experience in the ISR and space domains, combined with commercial expertise in adapting military organisations and cultures to incorporate commercial space technologies.
Brigadier General

Henrik C.H. Scholz

German Air Force
Deputy Chief of Staff for Future Plans, Capability Management, and Budget
Brigadier General Scholz currently serves as Deputy Chief of Staff for Future Plans, Capability Management, and Budget at German Air Force Headquarters in Berlin-Gatow, a position he assumed in October 2024.

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