Monday, 24 February 2025

08.00 – 09.30 Registration

09:30 – 09:45 Opening Remarks

• Mr. Ionel NIȚU, President, New Strategy Center, Romania
Brigadier General Constantin VIZITIU, Rector, Military Technical Academy „Ferdinand I”, Romania

09:45 – 11:15 Panel I.  Three Years of the Aggression War in Ukraine. Possible Developments and the Strategic Impact on Europe ‘s Security

Chair: Lieutenant General (ret.) Vasile TOADER, Member of Scientific Council of New Strategy Center, former Deputy Chief of Defence, Romania
 
Lieutenant General Iulian BERDILĂ, Deputy Chief of Defence for Operations and Training, Romania
Mr. Mykhailo SAMUS, Director, New Geopolitics Research Network | Non-resident expert New Strategy Center, Ukraine (VTC)
Major General (Ret) Vakhtang KAPANADZE, former Chief of Defence, Georgia
Ambassador Daniel FRIED, Distinguished Fellow, Atlantic Council, former Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian affairs, USA
Mr. Emmanuel DUPUY, President, Institute for European Perspective and Security, France

11:15 – 11:30 Break

11:30 – 12:45 Panel II. Unmanned Systems and the Future of Naval Domain

Chair: Brigadier General (Ret.) Hans DAMEN, Member of the International Consultative Board, New Strategy Center, former Head of the Taskforce Logistics / J4 of the Netherlands MOD, Netherlands
 
Admiral (Ret.) Ihor KABANENKO, former Deputy Minister of Defence, Ukraine (VTC)
Rear Admiral (UH) Cornel-Eugen COJOCARU, Romanian Fleet Commander
Mr. Greg MELCHER, Chief Operations Officer, Center for the Study of New  Generation Warfare, USA
Mr. Oscar ROJAS, Vice President for Global Operations, Ocean Aero, USA

12:45 – 14:00 Lunch Break

14:00 – 15:00 Panel III. Critical Infrastracture in the Black Sea Exclusive Economic Zones. How We Can Better Protect Our Economic Interests

Chair: COL  (AF) Mihai ȘTIR, Senior Associate Expert, New Strategy Center, Romania

Mr. Raed ARAFAT, State Secretary, Head of Emergency Situations Department, Ministry of Interior, Romania
Rear Admiral Liviu COMAN, Commander of the Romanian Maritime Component, Naval Forces, Romania
Mr. James E. THOMSEN, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Navy for Research, Development, USA Defense Department
Mr. Daniel  DINU, Environmental & Regulatory Compliance
Department Manager NEPTUN DEEP PROJECT – OMV PETROM, Romania

15:00 – 15:15 Break

15:15 – 16:20 Panel IV. AI and the War of Drones. Lesson Learned from the Ukrainian Front

Chair: Mr. Greg MELCHER, Chief Operations Officer, Center for the Study of New  Generation Warfare, USA
 
Mr. Mykhailo SAMUS, Director, New Geopolitics Research Network | Non-resident expert New Strategy Center, Ukraine (VTC)
Mr. Phillip PETERSEN, Chairman, Center for the Study of New Generation Warfare, USA
Mr. Race McDERMOTT, Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) Strategy & Growth Lead, Lockheed Martin, USA
Mr. Adam HODGES, Capture Team Leader, Europe and the Middle East, International Vertical Lift Sales & Marketing, Boeing Defense, Space & Security, USA

16:20 – 16:40 Break

16:40 – 17:45 Panel V. How We Prepare Society for a Drone War: Training, Operation, Maintenance

Chair: Brigadier General (Ret.) Hans DAMEN, Member of the International Consultative Board, New Strategy Center, former Head of the Taskforce Logistics / J4 of the Netherlands MOD, Netherlands
 
Mr. Andriy SIRKO-GALOUCHENKO, expert on UAV development for military applications, founder of the Ukraine UAV Forum, Ukraine
Lieutenant General Iulian BERDILĂ, Deputy Chief of Defence for Operations and Training, Romania
Mr. Sven KRUCK, Managing Director and CRO Quantum Systems, Germany
Mr. Kevin CAPOZZOLI, President MACH Industries, USA

17:45 – 18:00 Break

18:00 – 18:25 Panel VI. Research and Development, Procurement Processes: Lessons Learned from the Ukrainian Experience.

Chair: Mr. George SCUTARU, CEO, New Strategy Center, Romania
 
Mr. Mykhailo SAMUS, Director, New Geopolitics Research Network | Non-resident expert New Strategy Center, Ukraine (VTC)
Mr. Andriy SIRKO-GALOUCHENKO, expert on UAV development for military applications, founder of the Ukraine UAV Forum, Ukraine

18:25 – 18:55 Panel VII. Industry Cooperation and Unmanned Systems. Benefits and Challenges.

Chair: Mr. George SCUTARU, CEO, New Strategy Center, Romania

Lieutenant General Teodor INCICAȘ, Chief of the General Directorate for Armaments, Ministry of Defence, Romania
Mr. Haluk BAYRAKTAR, CEO, BAYKAR Tech, Türkiye 

18:55–19:00 Closing Remarks

Mr. George SCUTARU, CEO, New Strategy Center, Romania