The Defense technology landscape changes daily. Artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and cloud to edge ecosystems have accelerated a shift from the long-standing loci of power. Defense technologies have democratized, startups and venture capitalists have lowered the entry barriers to revolutionary tech, and the US government aggressively restructured for a leaner agile posture. Discord is often a byproduct of change, and a global power that fails to move cohesively will be outpaced by it’s adversaries.

The NDIA Hackathon provides clarity and direction for the defense industrial base by flattening communication between warfighters and the engineers empowering them with tomorrow’s defense tech. For over 100 years NDIA has provided an ethical forum for communication between the Department of Defense and the Defense Industrial Base. Now, NDIA is teaming up with George Mason University to host a Defense Technologies Hackathon for Industry and Service Members, creating an event ‘hub’ in Washington DC. The design extends invitations to defense partners, DOD components, and combatant commands across the globe to allow remote participation, literally ensuring that the sun will never set on American Ingenuity.

What/When/Where:
August 23-29th NDIA and George Mason University will host a hackathon in conjunction with the NDIA Emerging Technologies in Defense Conference. The event will kick off at the GMU FUSE Building, and transition to the Emerging Technology in Defense Conference at the Washington Convention Center later in the week. During the week combatant commands will be hosting simultaneous charter hackathons across the globe, linking the collaboration at the unclassified level and creating a global web of defense innovation.