The 2022 Air, Space & Cyber Conference will be held from Sept. 19-21 in National Harbor, Maryland. The three-day conference, organized by the aerospace advocacy nonprofit Air & Space Forces Association (AFA), is known as one of the top professional development events for military personnel.
According to AFA executive vice president, retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Doug Raaberg, this year’s conference will be the largest show in the organization’s history. He said the event usually offers 35 events and 100 speakers/moderators, but this year that increased by 60% “to as much as 45 events, and 160 speakers and moderators out there … right now we’re expecting between 14 to 17,000 attendees.”
The professional development event draws airmen, Space Force guardians, enlisted members, veterans and defense industry leaders.
“It is literally the conglomeration of the air, space, the military, the industry, academia, think tanks,” Raaberg said. “Everybody descends together. This is the premier show where we talk about warfighting in air, space, and cyber domains … We bring it all together.”
The theme of this year’s conference is “America’s Air & Space Forces – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (75 Years in the Defense of Our Nation),” honoring the 75th anniversary of the Air Force. Raaberg said it’s also to salute the 75th anniversary of air and space power.
“We’re going to talk about Air and Space Forces past, present and future … The show, even though it’s honoring the heritage, it’s designed around looking to the future, the next 75 years,” he said.
Conference guest speakers will include Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., and Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond. Former Vice President Mike Pence and Amazon founder/CEO Jeff Bezos are past show attendees.
“These leaders that they see in magazines and hear about, they’re going to run into,” Raaberg said. “They’re all going to be there. Four stars all the way down to the one star … they get to see the people who literally provide the strategic direction of the services, but also the combatant commanders.”
Raaberg believes attendees will find their Air, Space & Cyber Conference experience beneficial.
“I will guarantee that those that attend will actually walk away professionally and personally fulfilled.”
Visit Air, Space & Cyber Conference for registration details.
