June 4, 2026

Sanders to Moderate TPP Symposium

Posted by on Monday, June 1, 2026 · Leave a Comment 

Retired RADM Scott Sanders will moderate The Patuxent Partnership symposium, Evolving Warfare: Rise of the Drones, on June 18, 2026.

The event will be held from 8am to 5:30pm at the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland SMART Building in California, MD.

The symposium will focus on emerging drone and future autonomous technologies and how they will affect Navy, Joint and Coalition operations.

The day’s agenda:

7:45-8:15am — Check in and morning coffee

8:15-8:30am — Welcome and opening remarks

8:30-9:15am — VADM Jeffrey Hughes, Deputy Chief of Staff Capability Development, Headquarters, Supreme Allied Command Transformation (confirmed)

9:15-10:15am — Panel 1: “The Navy’s Drone “Hedge Strategy”?

  • Moderator: Sevan Mehrabian, Deloitte- Robotics and Autonomous Systems | National Security
  • NAWCAD/NAVAIR Rep (TBD)
  • Anthony Antognoli, USCG, Assistant COMDT/PEO Robotics and Autonomous Systems (invited)
  • COL Gregg Skinner, USMC (ret) PMA 263 PAE RAS (invited)
  • RADM Doug Sasse N81, OPNAV (confirmed)

10:15-10:45am — Networking break

10:45-11:30am — Christopher C. Miller, former Acting Secretary of Defense, COO, Highpoint Aerotechnologies (confirmed)

11:30-11:45am — Networking time and lunch set up

11:45am-12:45pm — Box lunch

12:45 -1:45pm — UAS Show & Tell with Platform Aero, OAG, Asio, Levanta Tech, Newton Engineering, MEX Technologies (Poland) (each company gets 6-8 minutes for overview)

1:30-2:30pm — Air Vice Marshall Chris Mullen, US Embassy Military Attache (confirmed)

2:30-3:15pm — Panel 2: Allies and Partnerships moderator Christopher C. Collins, Former Executive Director, Developmental Test, Evaluation & Assessments (OUSW(R&E))

  • Military Attache, Poland (confirmed)
  • Defense Attache, Australia (invited)
  • Defense Attache, Norway (invited)
  • Defense Attache, UK (confirmed)

3:15-3:30pm — Networking break

3:30-4:30pm — Panel 3:   Counter UAS Technology moderator COL Scott McLellan, US Army, Dep Director, JIATF 401 (invited)

  • MAJ Matt Fritters, US Army (ret), former Director of Technology Strategy & Transformation, US Space Force (confirmed)
  • Mark Butkiewicz, VP Applied Technology Sector, Survice Engineering (confirmed)
  • Joe Williams, Hidden Level
  • Ryan McBeth-Ukraine UAS (confirmed)

4:30-4:45pm — Closing remarks and wrap-up with RADM Sanders

4:45-5:45pm — Reception in SMART Lobby

Find registration information here.

About The Patuxent Partnership

The Patuxent Partnership is a nonprofit member organization that fosters collaboration between government, industry, and academia to advance education through STEM-based initiatives; to advance technology through speaker programs, forums, and networking; to advance science and technology transfer through the exchange of ideas, information, and data related to technologies; and to increase workforce development through an array of initiatives.

To learn more about The Patuxent Partnership and its programs, visit its Leader member page.

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