Defence iQ

Day 3 has finished🏁 On behalf of the #IMH2026 team and Defence iQ, a huge thank you to everyone who joined us for the 25th edition of the International Military Helicopter Conference 🚁 To our delegates — your engagement, curiosity, and enthusiasm made this milestone edition one of the best ever. It’s been incredible to see new connections formed, ideas shared, and discussions carried forward across every session. To our speakers — thank you for sharing your insight, expertise, and experiences. Your contributions sparked lively debate, inspired collaboration, and helped shape the conversations that will drive the future of rotary aviation. To our partners — your dedication, innovation, and support have been at the heart of this event, powering the sessions, demonstrations, and networking opportunities that make #IMH2026 such a unique experience. From all of us, we wish everyone a safe journey home, and we can’t wait to welcome you back for next year’s edition! #IMH2026 #InternationalMilitaryHelicopter2026 #Military #Aviation #RotaryWing #Defence #Defense #Rotorcraft #Helicopter

No final day slump at #IMH2026 🚁 The energy is still high, conversations are buzzing, and there’s a real sense of collaboration and community across the venue. Delegates are making new connections, strengthening existing partnerships and sharing insights across sessions 🤝 As the afternoon sessions resume, the momentum continues, keeping discussions lively and ideas flowing. #IMH2026 #Military #Aviation #RotaryWing #Defence #Defense #InternationalMilitaryHelicopter2026

AERO Vodochody AEROSPACE a.s. | #MFT2026 Two Star Partner ⭐⭐ With over a century of aircraft manufacturing expertise and the next-generation L-39NG training platform, AERO Vodochody AEROSPACE a.s. delivers cost-effective, high-reliability jet training solutions. Join them at #MFT2026 📍 31 March – 2 April 2026 | Switzerland 25 years of connecting air forces, training leaders and innovators across #FastJet and advanced pilot development. See the full partner line-up: 👉https://lnkd.in/ekGPYU3d #JetTraining #Military #Aviation #AirForces #Defence

Accelerating innovation through #SMEs took centre stage this morning at #IMH2026. Moderated by Dr Rich Drake, GM, Anduril Industries, the panel brought together Dr Kelvin Hamilton, Founder & CEO, Flare Bright Ltd.; Alexander Fitzgerald, Founder & CEO, Isembard; Eddie Devine MIKE MIReg, Chief Commercial Officer, ISS Aerospace; and Jake Reynolds, VP Product, Rowden. The discussion was clear: SMEs can move faster, but they need the right support and access to do so. Speed already exists within the ecosystem, yet #procurement pathways and engagement models must enable OEMs and end users to fully leverage that agility. Panellists spoke candidly about the importance of genuinely wanting to work with industry, especially at events like #InternationalMilitaryHelicopter2026, creating transparency in how opportunities are structured, and building collaborative routes that allow smaller innovators to scale their impact. With SMEs, primes, and end users all in the room taking notes, the dialogue was practical, forward-looking, and highly insightful. Events like #IMH2026 help create the transparency and trust needed to turn innovation into operational capability. #IMH2026 #Defence #SMEs #RotaryWing #Military #Aviation #Rotorcraft #Helicopter #Defense #AirForce

If you missed the 2025 Defence Estates and Infrastructure Summit, you can now catch up through our Post-Show Report: https://lnkd.in/ewFjrgyi It highlights the key insights shared on strengthening the resilience, affordability and capability of the Defence Estate in response to the changing demands and future need to support military. You’ll find summaries of the discussions, who attended, perspectives from the Chair, as well as reflections from defence and industry leaders on delivering an estate that supports both operational effectiveness and the lived experience of personnel. This year's edition will take place from 30th September - 1st October 2026 at Hilton Syon Park Hotel, London. You can secure your 2026 place now with a £400 Early Bird saving: https://lnkd.in/eM8isYib #DefenceEstates Anna Baker Anisa Cousin

Great to see strong engagement around our partner Thales across #IMH2026 this week. From technical discussions to informal networking conversations, their team has been actively contributing to the dialogue on advancing #RotaryWing capability and strengthening operational readiness. #IMH2026 is about more than presentations — its about meaningful exchange between operators, programme leaders and industry partners. It’s encouraging to see those conversations happening in real time. Thank you to Thales for being part of the discussion and for supporting the international rotary wing community. #InternationalMilitaryHelicopter #RotaryWing #DefenceAviation #MilitaryAviation #IndustryPartnerships #Collaboration

Day 3 — the final day of #IMH2026 — is now underway, and the momentum continues as we head into the closing stretch of this week’s #RotaryWing discussions. As this morning's speaker Colonel Lawrence Jones, Deputy Division Chief, The Joint Staff J8 put it "It's only through conferences like these that we get to hear about interoperability challenges" - highlighting the significance of #InternationalMilitaryHelicopter2026 The morning breakdown: We open with Strengthening Austria's Rotary Defence, delivered by Brigadier General Wolfgang Luttenberger, Commander Air Support Brigade, Austrian Air Force, sharing insight into Austria’s rotary capability and future force direction. Next, Colonel Lawrence Jones, Deputy Division Chief, The Joint Staff J8, will examine #VTOL force application opportunities and how vertical lift concepts are evolving to meet future operational requirements. We will also hear from Colonel Stefan Okos, Commander 51st Helicopter Wing, Slovak Air Force, on modernising rotary wing capability for multi-role missions, followed by Lieutenant Colonel David Beatrix, Rotary Wing Experimental Test Pilot, École de l'air et de l'espace (French Air and Space Force), discussing the #GuepardHelicopter replacement programme. In parallel, our second track hosts an industry-focused morning featuring interactive roundtable discussions led by our partners Sikorsky, Aselsan, HAT.tec GmbH, The DiSTI Corporation and Airbus Aircraft. These sessions will encourage open exchange and conclude with a collaborative feedback discussion to capture new perspectives and lessons identified across the community. A full and focused agenda lies ahead as we conclude #InternationalMilitaryHelicopter2026 — more updates to follow throughout the day. #MilitaryAviation #DefenceAviation #VTOL #FutureForce #Aerospace #DefenceInnovation

The World’s Premier Military Flight Training Conference will be held on 31st March – 2nd April 2026 at Hotel & Conference Center Sempachersee, Switzerland. As nations move through significant procurement transitions, the pressure on military aviation leadership is intensifying. Persistent pilot shortages continue to threaten readiness. Mission requirements are evolving faster than existing training pipelines can adapt. Multi-domain operations demand new competencies. Human-machine teaming with unmanned systems is now operational, not experimental. Read more: https://lnkd.in/d53VD5qp Defence iQ Find more information on this industry update and other updates on AFM Curious to learn more about how we help organisations grow in the pilot training industry? Contact us now

We’re delighted to be partnering with the team behind DVD Event as an official Media Partner for #DVD2026. DVD continues to play a vital role in bringing together the UK defence community, and we’re proud to support the conversations shaping the future of capability delivery, equipment support, and operational readiness. We look forward to working closely with the DVD team and engaging the wider community in the months ahead. #DVD2026 #DefenceIQ #DefenceEvents #BritishArmy #DEandS

As Day 2 of #IMH2026 comes to a close, we’ve seen another full day of discussion, insight and forward-looking debate across the global #RotaryWing community. Major General David Hafner, Commander Aviation Command, Australian Army, opened sessions on building a modernised fleet prepared for uncrewed aviation, outlining how Australia is undergoing one of the most significant aviation transformations in its history. He emphasised that uncrewed systems are additive rather than a replacement for crewed platforms, with the focus now on building scalable capability, strengthening workforce readiness, and delivering speed to operational capability through earlier training, industrial preparation and force design. Later, Neil Mathieson, Head of Regulation and Certification at the UK Military Aviation Authority, explored how to reduce bottlenecks in UAS airworthiness and approval. A key takeaway was that certification itself is unlikely to be the primary barrier to integration — provided regulators are engaged early, use cases are clearly defined from the outset, and safety cases are proportionate, technology-aware and built into projects from initiation. The discussion also highlighted the importance of addressing legal, ethical and operational considerations as autonomy increases. The day concluded with a panel on the future of crewed–uncrewed teaming, including Brigadier Hubert Doutaud of French Army Aviation, which reinforced that future battlefield advantage will depend on how effectively forces integrate systems, scale capability and operate across domains. Thank you to everyone who joined us today — particularly those travelling home this evening. For those staying with us, we look forward to continuing the conversation tomorrow for the final day of #InternationalMilitaryHelicopter2026. #MilitaryAviation #DefenceAviation #FutureForce #UAS #DefenceInnovation #Aerospace #AllianceCollaboration