UAS Summit expands to two full days for 20th annual event

UAS Magazine has opened registration for the 20th UAS Summit & Expo, set for Oct. 13-14 at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The expanded agenda reflects a surge in abstract submissions and will cover military, government, commercial and autonomy topics across two concurrent tracks.

Why it matters: - The UAS Summit & Expo is a major meeting point for the unmanned aviation sector, where commercial, defense, government and research leaders compare notes on technology, policy and partnerships. - The 20th annual event is expanding to two full days of concurrent sessions, signaling stronger demand for UAS-focused content and more room for industry networking.

What happened: - UAS Magazine announced the preliminary agenda for the UAS Summit & Expo on Aug. 6, 2026. - The conference is scheduled for Oct. 13-14 at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota. - The event is organized by BBI International and produced by UAS Magazine. - Tuesday’s agenda will focus on military and government drone operations, counter-UAS and infrastructure. - Wednesday’s sessions will cover BVLOS, commercialization, advanced operations and autonomy.

The details: - The summit is in its 20th year and will feature a record amount of content, according to the organizers. - The format includes two full days of concurrent sessions across two rooms. - Danielle Piekarski, program manager for the UAS Summit & Expo, said the expanded program reflects a large volume of timely abstract submissions. - Piekarski said attendees should block off both days to get the full program. - Featured speakers include U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, University of North Dakota President Andrew Armacost, AUVSI Government Affairs Director Mason Sisk, Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems RQ-4 Enterprise Director Stan Zipper and Stratolaunch President & CEO Zachary Krevor. - The conference opens Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 7:30 a.m. CDT and is open to all registered attendees. - The online agenda is available through the event agenda link in the release.

Between the lines: - The agenda mix shows where the UAS industry is headed: national security, counter-drone defenses, longer-range operations and commercialization remain the highest-priority themes. - The strong speaker lineup suggests the summit is trying to keep its role as a convening event for both policymakers and operators, not just hardware vendors.

What's next: - Attendees can review the preliminary agenda and plan for two full days of sessions. - The summit will likely add more programming detail as Oct. 13 approaches. - The event will begin with registration-ready sessions on Tuesday morning in Grand Forks.

The bottom line: - The 20th UAS Summit & Expo is bigger than before, and its agenda points to an industry that is moving from niche discussion to mainstream operational scale.