Defence decisions do not stay within the military perimeter. They shape budgets, contracts, prices, business plans and the lives of people with no connection to the field.
VANTARC DEFENSE FORUM • SECOND EDITION
November 5, 2026 • Bucharest
The world is changing faster than we manage to talk about it.
Three perspectives that rarely meet in the same room: geopolitical technological economic
SAVE THE DATE
WHY VANTARC
THE FIRST EDITION
GEOPOLITICS OF DEFENSE
THE ECONOMICS OF DEFENSE
THE FUTURE OF DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY
AGENDA
09:00 – 09:45 | Registration, badge collection and networking breakfast
09:45 – 10:00 | Official opening and welcome remarks – Lieutenant General (ret.) Corneliu Postu, President of the Conference
10:00 – 11:00 | Panel 1 | The Geopolitics of Defense – Tudor Curtifan
11:10 – 12:10 | Panel 2 | The Future of Defense Technology – Adrian Popa
12:10 – 12:40 | Coffee break and refreshments
12:40 – 13:05 | Special session: Ukraine Focus – Andreea Soare
13:15 – 14:15 | Panel 3 | The Economics of Defense – Moise Guran
14:15 – 14:30 | Closing remarks and thanks – Lieutenant General (ret.) Corneliu Postu, President of the Conference
14:30 – 15:30 | Lunch and networking
Three panels and a special session on Ukraine, each moderated by a journalist.
PANEL 1 | GEOPOLITICS OF DEFENSE
Who guarantees the security of the eastern flank now that the American presence is smaller and more of the responsibility sits with Europeans. Which capabilities have to exist in practice, not on paper, for deterrence to be credible, by when, and how much of that Romania is expected to carry. And what cooperation in the Black Sea has produced so far, from demining to protecting submarine cables.
At the table: ambassadors of allied states, defence decision-makers at state secretary level, and international manufacturers that already build in Romania.
PANEL 2 | THE FUTURE OF DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY
The battlefield has changed. Cheap systems now produce strategic effects, airspace is violated routinely, and navigation and communications can no longer be assumed in a contested electromagnetic spectrum. The panel follows the reaction chain, from detection to decision to interception, then turns to industry: what it takes to move from prototype to serial production in drones, armoured vehicles, ammunition and command systems, what remains dependent on imports, and who owns the software everything else runs on.
At the table: Romanian and international manufacturers, a producer of unmanned systems with battlefield experience, and the institutions responsible for cyber security.
SPECIAL SESSION | UKRAINE FOCUS
What Ukraine has learned about buying, building and fielding defence equipment in wartime, and what Europe can take from it. How Ukrainian industry is cooperating with European partners, and where Romania fits in that picture.
At the table: a former Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine and the leadership of a Ukrainian defence manufacturer that is the main system integrator of a ten-nation anti-ballistic missile programme.
PANEL 3 | THE ECONOMICS OF DEFENSE
SAFE is a loan, and it will be repaid. The question is what will exist in the Romanian economy when repayment begins: production capacity and jobs, or equipment bought abroad. How the share that stays in Romania is calculated, what counts towards it, and who verifies it. And what financing looks like for a supplier that does not yet hold a signed contract.
At the table: ministers, the banking sector, investment funds with a defence mandate, and private suppliers inside major procurement programmes.
130 guests in the room
business leaders, the defence industry, political decision-makers, public administration and defence systems manufacturers.
15 speakers
ambassadors, state secretaries, retired generals, Romanian and international defence company leadership, banking sector, strategic analysis community.
250.000+
people reached, close to 450,000 impressions on social media.
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