As a testament to our commitment to thoroughly exploring contemporary security and defense issues from all angles, we present the BSC 2024 programme below. Stay tuned for updates on the BSC 2025 programme!

07:00 Women´s Breakfast

08:00 Opening of the Exhibition / Registration

08:30 Announcements, National Anthems, Stabsmusikkorps Berlin

08:45 Welcome to the Congress

Dr Eva-Charlotte Proll, Editor-in-Chief and and Publisher Behörden Spiegel Group & Wolfgang Hellmich, Member of Parliament and Member in the Defence Committee, German Bundestag

09:00 OPENING OF THE CONFERENCE

Dr Tobias Lindner, Member of Parliament, Minister of State at the German Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs & Jonatan Vseviov, Secretary General Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

09:45 Interview / Q+A by the Auditorium, chaired by

Dr Eva-Charlotte Proll, Editor in Chief and Publisher Behörden Spiegel Group

  • Dr Tobias Lindner, Member of Parliament, Minister of State at the German Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • Jonatan Vseviov, Secretary General Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Estonia

10:15 The Digital Transformation of Warfare: Resilience and Technological Sovereignty

Dr. Martin Kaloudis, Executive Vice President, Bechtle
10:35 Coffee Break

11:15 HIGH-LEVEL DEBATE

Ukraine: Showcase for Prevailing Sovereignty, Freedom and Democracy in Europe

Chair: Ambassador Dr Géza von Geyr, German Representation to NATO

  • Arseniy Yatsenyuk, former Prime Minister Ukraine (2014-2016)
  • Ambassador Jüri Luik, Permanent Representative of Estonia to NATO
  • Hans Christian Kjølseth, Acting State Secretary, Ministry of Defence of Norway
  • Major General Dr Christian Freuding, Head of Planning-and Command Staff, German Federal Ministry of Defence

12:15 Keynote Congress Partner

Dr Christoph Erdmann, Managing Director, Secusmart
12:45 Lunch
15:45 Coffee Break

16:15 Foundational Capabilities for Deterrence

Dr Germar Schröder, Partner, PwC Strategy&

16:35 Keynote

General Carsten Breuer, Chief of Defence, Germany

16:55 High-Level Military Forum: Deterrence and Defence in and for Europe

Chair: General Christian Badia, Deputy Supreme Allied Transformation

  • General Carsten Breuer, Chief of Defence, Germany
  • General Michael Claesson, Chief of Defence, Sweden
  • General Janne Jaakkola, Chief of Defence, Finland
  • Admiral Tony Radakin, Chief of Defence United, Kingdom
  • General Raimundas Vaikšnoras, Chief of Defence, Lithuania
  • Major General Andrus Merilo, Chief of Defence, Estonia
  • General Onno Eichelsheim, Chief of Defence, Netherlands

18:00 Keynote Congress Partner

Stefano Pontecorvo, Chairman, Leonardo

18:20 THE MIDDLE EAST SPECIAL FORUM: What should be done now and what are the effects for Europe?

Chair: Dr Tobias Lindner, Member of Parliament, Minister of State at the German Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs

  • N.N., Member of Embassy Qatar
  • N.N., Member of Embassy Israel
  • Prof Dr Burkhard Meißner, Helmut Schmidt University, University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, Germany

19:30 Dinner, Buffet / Networking
08:00 Opening of the Exhibition / Registration

08:30 OPENING OF THE 2ND CONFERENCE DAY WITH DISCUSSION/Q+A

Siemtje Möller, Member of Parliament, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal German Minister of Defence & Hanno Pevkur, Estonian Minister of Defence

09:10 Tech-Driven Deterrence: Protecting NATO’s Eastern Flank

Dr. Gundbert Scherf, Co-CEO & Co-Founder, Helsing

09:30 SPECIAL FORUM

75 years of NATO: Admiral Rob Bauer, Chairperson, NATO Military Committee

09:50 HIGH-LEVEL INTERVIEW: NATO’s Military Way Ahead

Chair: Hans-Lothar Domröse, General (ret.), Former Commander Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (2012–2016)

  • Admiral Rob Bauer, Chairperson, NATO Military Committee
  • Admiral Sir Keith E Blount KCB OBE, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, NATO
  • General Christian Badia, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, NATO

10:50 Shaping Europe’s future in Defence - Towards a more strategic autonomy

Dr. Michael Schöllhorn, Chief Executive Officer, Airbus Defence and Space

11:10 Handover Congress Presidency

11:20 Coffee Break

11:40 Keynote

Carl-Oskar Bohlin, Minister of Civil Defence, Sweden

12:00 Keynote and Q&A

Carl-Oskar Bohlin, Swedish Minister of Civil Defence
12:50 Lunch
15:30 Coffee Break

15:45 Award Ceremony Start-up Challenge

15:50 Play as you fight – Wargaming in the Context of Hybrid Warfare

Udo Littke, Head of Eviden Central Europe, Eviden

16:10 Keynote

Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner designate and Member European Parliament

16:40 FORUM EUROPE: THE FUTURE EU SECURITY AND DEFENCE, WITH DISCUSSION / Q& A

Chair: Riho Terras, Member of the European Parliament

  • Charles Fries, Deputy Secretary General for Peace, Security and Defence, European External Action Service
  • H.E. Ambassador Pälvi Pulli, Deputy Head of the State Secretariat for Security Policy
  • Dr Jasper Wieck, Directorate General for Policy, German Federal Ministry of Defence
  • Tuuli Duneton, Undersecretary for Defence Policy, Estonia Ministry of Defence

17:40 The European Defense Industry facing new Challenges: cooperation, Technology, and Supply Chain

Enzo Benigni, President & CEO, ELT Group

18:00 FUTURE FORCES FORUM: The Way ahead in Defence Planning

Chair: Nana Brink, Member of the executive Board Women in International Security Deutschland (WIIS.de)

  • Lieutenant General Andreas Marlow, Vice Chief of the German Army and Commander Basic Military Organisation
  • Lieutenant General Günter Katz, Commanding General of the German Air Forces Command
  • Lieutenant General Gerald Funke, Commanding General of the Bundeswehr Joint Forces Services
  • Rear Admiral Tobias Abry, Chief of Staff of the German Naval Command
  • Vice Admiral Dr Thomas Daum, Chief of the German Cyber and Information Domain Service
  • Major General (MS) Dr Almut Nolte, Deputy Commander of the Bundeswehr Joint Medical Service at the Bundeswehr Joint Forces Support Services Headquarters, Germany
  • Commodore Ivo Värk, Commander of the Estonian Navy

19:00 End of the Conference

Dr Eva-Charlotte Proll, Editor-in-Chief and CDO Behörden Spiegel

19:15 Handover Partner Nation

Panel A1: Human Resources, Recruitment and Conscription (ROOM GRANAT)

Chair: Major General Robert Sieger, President of the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Personnel Management

  • Brigadier General Vesa Valtonen, Chief of Personnel, Finnish Defence Forces
  • Commander Sune Lund, Chief Recruitment Center, Danish Personnel Agency
  • Christina Malm, General Director Swedish Assessment and Conscription Agency
  • Dr Wolfgang Zink, Partner, PwC
  • Emanuel Jacob, President Euromil
  • Norbert Neubauer, Head of Personal, Development, Ministry of Defence Austria
  • Brigadier General Arnaud Goujon, Deputy Director for Recruitment & Youth, France
  • Colonel André Wüstner, Chairman of the German Armed Forces Association

Panel A2: Land Capabilities in View of contemporary Conflicts (ROOM AMETHYST)

Chair: Dr Hans-Christoph Atzpodien, Managing Director, BDSV

  • Lieutenant General Alfons Mais, Chief of the German Army
  • General Pierre Schill, Chief of the French Army
  • Christoph Ruffner, CEO Thales Germany and Country Director Germany
  • Sascha Brüning, Vice President Business Development & Sales, Vincorion
  • Stefan Bullmer, SVP Strategy & Business Development, Diehl Defence

Panel A3: Capabilities for Cyberspace and Information Technology Forces (blocked only for Cyber CDR) (ROOM RUBIN)

Chair: Vice Admiral Dr Thomas Daum, Chief of the German Cyber and Information Domain Service

Introduction: N.N.

  • Major General Karol Molenda, Commander of the Polish Cyber Command
  • Colonel Rene Innos, Chief Cyber and Intelligence Command, Estonia
  • Colonel (A) Thor Kårsten, Chief NIS Cyber operations centre, Norway
  • Colonel Thomas Höglund, Commander Cyber Command, Sweden”

Panel A4: Strategic Competition in Space (ROOM SAPHIR)

Chair: Rear-Admiral Louis Tillier, Director European Union Satellite Centre

  • Colonel Daniele Donati, Chief of Space, General Office Italian Defence Staff
  • Dr Stefan Frey, CEO and Managing Director, Vyoma
  • Sven Sünberg, Managing Director, MBS
  • Dr Antje Nötzold, Professorship International Politics, Technical University Chemnitz
  • Colonel (GS) Thomas Spangenberg, COS and Deputy Commander of the German Space Command
  • Brigadier General Jacob Middleton, Commander of the US Space Force Component for Europe-Africa, Ramstein, Germany
  • Colonel (GS) Michael Fraas, German Cyber and Information Domain Service Headquarters, Strategy Branch
  • Colonel Diego Monte Fusco, Chief of Office for Areo Space Policy and Operations, Airforce Italy”

Panel A5: Military Research and Development (ROOM JADE)

Chair: Prof Wolfgang Koch, Chief Scientist and Head Sensor Data & Information Fusion, Fraunhofer FKIE/University Bonn

Introduction: Dominik Kampmann, IPL for Security in Europe & Africa, Moody´s

  • Major General Wolfgang Gäbelein, Director Bundeswehr Office for Defence Planning
  • Colonel Dr Rickard Stridh, Chief Scientist of the Swedish Armed Forces
  • Markus Staudt, Director Government Sales, Quantum Systems
  • Mike House, Vice President, Siemens Goverment Technologie, USA
  • Dr Simona Pukiené, Science and Innovation Advisor, Ministry of Defence Lithuania
  • Dr Kairi Talves, Scientific Advisor, Ministry of Defence Estonia
  • Maik Kammermann, Departement Planning and Research Innovationshub, German Federal Ministry of Defence

Panel A6: The Use of AI in the Military (ROOM BERNSTEIN)

Chair: Prof Dr Stefan Pickl, University of the Bundeswehr Munich

Introduction: Maurice Edward Cashman, Field CTO, EMEA, Trellix

  • Lieutenant General Bruno Hofbauer, Deputy Chief of Defence of the Austrian Armed Forces and Capability Director
  • Inga Elsholz-Krüger, Centre for Digitization of the Bundeswehr, Deputy Head CoE Analytics, Simulation and AI
  • Dr Chia-Lung Yeh, Chief, Artificial Intelligence Section/Information & Communication Research Division/NCSIST
  • Brigadier General Dr Volker Pötzsch, Chief of Divisionn Cyber/IT and AI Management
  • Jaanus Tamm, CEO, DefSecIntl Solutions
  • Lorenz Lehmhaus, Associate Partner, IBM Consulting

Panel A7: Women in International Security (ROOM QUARZ)

Chair: Silvia Petig, Chairwoman, Women in International Security Germany (WIIS.de)

  • Charlotte Isaksson, Gender Advisor of the Swedish Defence Staff
  • Major Søren Glargaard Rich, Gender Advisor of the Danish Defence Command
  • Dr Christina Horváth-Stenner, Mediation Support Officer, Operations Service | Conflict Prevention Center, OSCE
  • Wiebke Köhler, Network National Security, CDU, Germany
  • Cathrin Wilhelm, BDSV, Board Member for SME

Panel A8: Trolls and Bots – Disinformation Campaigns and Methods against them (ROOM OPAL)

Chair: Colonel Dr Ferdi Akaltin, Commander, German Armed Forces Centre for Operational Communication

  • Anke Domscheit-Berg, Member of Parliament, German Bundestag
  • Dr Gesine Dornblüth, Author and Journalist, Germany
  • Hung Lun Yen, Associate Research Fellow of Prospect Foundation, Taiwan
  • Colin Eide, Director, Microsoft Threat Analysis Center

Panel A9: Horizon 2030 - The role of stand-off precision strike capabilities in future warfare (ROOM SMARAGD)

Chair: Sophie Witte, Policy Advisor and Reserve Officer

Introduction: Guido Brendler, Director Sales Business Development, MBDA

  • Brigadier General Corinne Lonchampt, Director Western Europe & Northern America at the French Armaments Directorate
  • Air Marshal (ret.) Stuart Atha, Director Defence Capability, BAE Systems
  • General Christian Badia, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation
  • Magnus-Valdemar Saar, Director General Estonian Center for Defence Investment
  • Brigadier General Orduña Rodríguez, Head of Plans and Policy Directorate Air Staff, Spain

Panel B1: Mission LV/BV - prepare the Air Forces for War (ROOM SAPHIR)

Chair: Lieutenant General Günter Katz, Commanding General of the German Air Force Forces Command

Introduction: Michael von Puttkamer, Vice President Special Aircraft Services, Lufthansa Technik

  • Major General Jonas Wikman, Chief of the Swedish Airforce
  • Lieutenant General Alberto Biavati, Commander Operational Forces Command – 1st Air Region, Italy
  • Peter Griffith, Global Leader Defence & National Security, KPMG
  • Wolfgang Gammel, Managing Director, Helsing Germany
  • Kenn Todorov, Sector Vice President and General Manager, Global Battle Management & Readiness, Northrop Grumman
  • Marco Gumbrecht, Vice President, Head of Sales Germany, Director Global Business Eurofighter, Airbus
  • Major General Randolph Staudenraus, Deputy Chief of Staff Operations, Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum

Panel B2: Capabilities for Naval Forces (ROOM AMETHYST)

Chair: Rear Admiral Tobias Abry, Chief of Staff Naval Command, Germany

  • Rear Admiral Henrik Ryberg, Chief of the Danish Navy
  • Brigadier General Patrik Gardesten, Deputy Chief of the Swedish Navy
  • Commodore Ivo Värk, Commander of the Estonian Navy
  • Harald Aarø, EVP Business Development and Strategy, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS
  • Magiel Venema, Managing Director, Damen Naval Germany
  • Sebastian Dännart, Director IT Security Consulting, Infodas

Panel B3: NBC-Defence – Hope for the Best, or prepare for the Worst!? (ROOM QUARZ)

Chair: Colonel Stephan Saalow, Commander Bundeswehr CBRN Defence Command, Germany

  • Colonel Thomas Lamke, Commander of the Swedish CBRN-Center
  • Lieutenant Colonel Anders Kildal, Commander of the Norwegian Armed Forces CBRN & EP school
  • Sebastian Meyer-Plath, Blücher, Germany
  • Ask Eirik Storsve, Head of International Government Affairs, Emergent Bio Solutions
  • Markus Barner, Managing Director, Spokesman of the Management Board, Kärcher Futuretech, Germany
  • Dr Armin Gembus, Vice President & Member of Management Board Leipzig, Head of Business Area Gas Raman Trace Detection, Bruker Optics GmbH & Co. KG

Panel B4: National Civil and Military Home Defence in Article 5 Operations (ROOM OPAL)

Chair: Lieutenant General (ret.) Peter Bohrer, former Vice National Territorial Commander

  • Colonel Peter Fausing, Commander of the Regional Defence Forces West of the Danish Home Guard
  • Lieutenant General (ret.) Martin Schelleis, Federal Commissioner for Crisis Resilience, Security and Civil-Military Cooperation, Malteser, Germany
  • Dr Nils Förster, Partner, Strategy& Germany
  • Prof Dr Sönke Neitzel, Chair of War Studies, University Potsdam
  • Brigadier General Jami Virta, Commander of the Finnish Pori Brigade
  • Lisa Gorenflo, Dog handler and trainer, Schwarzwald Dogs
  • Christian Schöning, CEO, Argus Interception

Panel B5: Capabilities for Medical Services (ROOM JADE)

Chair: Marina Schmidt, Press and Information Center, Bundeswehr Medical Service Headquarters, Germany

  • Major General (MS) Dr Almut Nolte, Deputy Commander of the Bundeswehr Joint Medical Service at the Bundeswehr Joint Forces-Support Services Headquarters, Germany
  • Frank Dürrbeck, Director, PwC
  • Flottila Admiral (MC) Juha-Petri Ruohola, Surgeon General of the Finnish Defence Forces
  • Commander (MC) Dr Christian Haggenmiller, European Union Military Staff, Brussels
  • Prof Florian Holzapfel, Technical University Munich, Germany
  • Giulio Gullotta, Head of Science and Technology, Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, Germany
  • Dr Johannes Kreuzer, CEO, Cosinuss, Germany
  • Dr Christophe Bayer, Head of Division, Health Security, International Crisis Management, Federal Ministry of Health, Germany

Panel B6: Software Defined Defence - The Way Ahead (ROOM BERNSTEIN)

Chair: Lieutenant General Michael Vetter, Head of CIT, German Federal Ministry of Defence

Introduction: Marcel Taubert, Vice President Defence & Space, secunet

  • Alexander Philipp, Managing Director, Rohde & Schwarz
  • Brigadier General Mathias Hanson, Swedish Armed Forces Chief Information Officer
  • Harald Mannheim, Managing Director, Head of Defence Digital & Cyber, Airbus Defence and Space
  • Marc Akkermann, Vice President & Head of Public Defense, Capgemini
  • Dr Timo Haas, Chief Digital Officer Rheinmetall and coCEO Division Electronic Solutions

Panel B7: How to accelerate procurement and armament (ROOM RUBIN)

Chair: Dr Hans-Christoph Atzpodien, Managing Director, BDSV

Introduction: Dr Thomas Kauffmann, Vice President and Managing Director, GDELS

  • Prof Dr Heiko Höfler, PwC
  • Vice Admiral Carsten Stawitzki, National Armaments Director, German Federal Ministry of Defence
  • Tiina Uudeberg, Under Secretary for Defence Planning, Ministry of Defence Estonia
  • Massimo Scialpi, Deputy Director, Organisation for Joint Armaments Cooperation, OCCAR
  • Dr Jörg Hennemann, Head of Defence Science & Technology, Schmidt & Bender
  • Jukka Holkeri, Executive Vice President, Global Division, Patria

Panel B8: Resilient and secure Cloud Solutions for Military Forces (ROOM GRANAT)

Chair: Colonel (GS) Bernd Stingl, Commander, Bundeswehr Centre for Digitalisation and Cyber and Information Domain Capability

Introduction: Peter Hurnaus, Microsoft

  • Commander Markus Mirsberger, Centre of Digitization of the Bundeswehr, Infrastructure and Cloud Base
  • Dr Philipp Müller, Vice President Public, Drivelock
  • Christian Behma, CEO, Bechtle IT-Systemhaus Bonn
  • Michael Hlevnjak, Key Account Director Bundesbehörden, Google Germany
  • Frank Leidenberger, CEO, BWI

Panel B9: Unmanned Systems for Land Forces (ROOM SMARAGD)

Chair: Brigadier General (ret.) Robbie Boyd, Advisory Council and Member OPEWI

  • Lieutenant Colonel Marcus Sven Christoph, Army Capabilities and Development Office, Germany
  • Roberta Randerath, Business Development, ARX Robotics
  • Stefan Behre, Deputy Chief Sales Officer at Milrem Robotics
  • Dawid Bielecki, Board Member, Flytronic S.A. WB GROUP

*speakers requested