Content Library | Air Dominance Summit

Air Dominance Summit 2026 brought together more than 300 military leaders, allied partners, industry innovators, and defense experts to examine the future of air superiority in an increasingly contested operational environment. This post-show report captures the key insights, discussions, and attendee perspectives from two days of strategic dialogue on next-generation airpower, autonomy, AI, readiness, and multi-domain operations.

Download to gain:

• Recaps of keynote presentations and panel discussions featuring senior leaders from NORTHCOM, NORAD, Air Combat Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, allied militaries, and industry.
• Exclusive attendee survey results and event insights on AI, Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), readiness, sustainment, homeland defense, and future air dominance priorities.
  

Curious who you'll meet at the Air Dominance Summit in 2027?

IDGA is pleased to share a look at the organizations that attended in 2026, many of whom are expected to return for 2027. 

The audience includes senior leaders and decision-makers from across the United States Air Force, United States Navy, and international partners, alongside major industry players such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, General Atomics, L3Harris Technologies, BAE Systems, and Airbus Defence and Space.

With representation from key commands, program offices, and operational units, this is a highly targeted audience - giving you direct access to the people shaping future capability and strategy.

Defence IQ, the international defense sister to IDGA, published its annual “International Fighter Global Market Report”. The 57-page market report covered everything from emerging technologies to the latest procurement figures, to regional breakdowns of ongoing air superiority programs.

The following is one portion of the market report, looking specifically at two of the largest sixth-generation aircraft programs in the world, the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) and the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), programs that share similarities to the U.S. equivalent, Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD). This report highlights key industry players, timelines, and international collaborators for both FCAS and GCAP.

In 2026, IDGA was proud to welcome General (Ret.) Glen VanHerck, former commander of US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), as the events co-chair. With decades of experience leading the nation’s homeland defense enterprise and flying frontline platforms from the F-15C and F-35A to the B-2 and B-1, General VanHerck brought a uniquely deep perspective on the future of airpower.

Before last year’s event, IDGA sat down with General VanHerck to discuss the evolving meaning of air dominance, the most pressing airborne threats to the homeland, and what the joint force must do to maintain decision advantage in an era of rapid technological change.

Twenty years after the first production model of the F-35 was introduced to the armed services, the sixth generation of fighter aircrafts are beginning to enter development. The Air Force was the first service branch to make headway in the realm of sixth-generation fighters when its Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) selected Boeing to lead the manufacturing and development of the F-47.

Following the Air Force is the Navy, whose NGAD equivalent, F/A-XX, is beginning to gain some traction at the start of 2026. The Navy’s next-generation air dominance program will replace the Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and E/A-18G Growler fleets. This report will look at progress on F/A-XX, including the latest funding secured in last year’s NDAA.

The future of air combat is being shaped by two ambitious sixth-generation fighter programs: the United States’ NGAD (F-47) and Europe’s FCAS. This infographic provides a side-by-side comparison of the two initiatives, highlighting their timelines, costs, industry players, and defining technologies. The goal is to give a clear, at-a-glance overview of how these programs stack up against each other and where they diverge.