NDC-IAI Workshop on Military Technology: Risks and Opportunities for the Atlantic Alliance (27-28 Feb 2020)

The event was hosted at the premises of IAI in Rome and brought together about 30 participants, from think tanks, universities, governments, industry and NATO. Experts touched upon several issues such as the major trends in military technology: how improvements in software, communications and materials are going to affect the design and production of weapon systems in the near future and, consequently, how they will alter the way we fight wars.

Discussions then focussed on the main developments expected for the 2020-2040 period in aerospace capabilities, electronic warfare, autonomous systems, the cyber domain and artificial intelligence. In particular, experts around the table focussed on what will happen and who will act, thus opening the way for the third and final panel, on the transatlantic dimension of existing technological trajectories. Is the growing reliance on software, including machine learning and cloud computing affecting the Atlantic Alliance? What are the political consequences of defence cooperation in Europe and across the Atlantic, as well as the repercussions of other technological trends? Dr Thierry Tardy, Director of the NDC Research Division, delivered concluding remarks.