AI, emerging technologies drive discussion at the 2026 Congressional M&S Leadership Summit to start TSIS week 

July 22, 2026

Senior leaders from government, industry, academia and defense gathered on June 16 for the 2026 Congressional Modeling & Simulation (M&S) Leadership Summit at the Rosen Centre Hotel. Discussions centered on how artificial intelligence (AI) and M&S can strengthen national resilience.

Hosted by the National Training and Simulation Association (NTSA), the annual summit serves as a forum for experts to identify challenges, exchange ideas and develop actionable recommendations that can inform future federal policy and legislation.

This year’s theme, “National Resilience: Leveraging the Intersection of Modeling and Simulation with Artificial Intelligence,” reflected the growing importance of AI-driven technologies in national defense, healthcare, cybersecurity and critical infrastructure.

VADM Sean Buck, USN (Ret.), president of NTSA, and Linda Brent, Ed.D., strategic planning for NTSA and chief executive officer of The ASTA Group, opened the event with the call to order and opening remarks.

“The theme of this year’s summit was well thought out,” Buck said. “Leveraging the intersection of AI and modeling and simulation will help us develop meaningful recommendations for policymakers.”

Brent emphasized the summit is more than a conference — it is a collaborative effort designed to provide Congress with practical recommendations from the modeling and simulation community.

“Your voice can and will be heard,” Brent said. “The recommendations developed here will help inform the Congressional Modeling & Simulation Caucus as it considers future policy and legislative initiatives.”

U.S. Rep. Darren Soto (FL-9), co-chair of the Congressional M&S Caucus, welcomed attendees and highlighted Central Florida’s role as a national hub for modeling, simulation, defense training and aerospace innovation.

He pointed to the rapidly evolving security landscape, where artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and unmanned technologies are reshaping modern warfare and national security.

“Central Florida is one of those hotspots for training and simulation,” Soto said. “We are responding to these changes by preparing our military and industry for the technologies shaping the future battlefield.”

Drawing from recent global conflicts, Soto noted emerging technologies such as drones, AI-enabled decision support and cyber capabilities are changing how military forces prepare for future threats. He stressed the importance of developing training environments that evolve as quickly as the technologies they are designed to support.

“Defense is rapidly changing,” Soto said. “We see it every day in the headlines we read, whether it is the war in Iran, the fight in Ukraine or the changing landscape with AI and drones becoming a huge part of modern warfare.”

Soto also discussed recent congressional efforts to establish guardrails for military AI through the National Defense Authorization Act. While encouraging rapid adoption of commercial AI technologies, he said Congress has also emphasized maintaining meaningful human oversight in critical defense applications, particularly regarding autonomous weapons and strategic decision-making.

“As we go down this path, we want to make sure there’s always a human making the decision at the end of the day,” Soto said. “Even as AI can help with gathering information and making recommendations, human oversight remains essential.”

One of the summit’s keynote presentations came from Amy Henninger, Ph.D., director of operational test and evaluation (DOT&E) for the Department of War (DoW). Henninger explored the longstanding relationship between artificial intelligence and modeling and simulation, arguing while AI has become today’s headline technology, its integration with simulation has been evolving for decades.

“We’ve been integrating artificial intelligence and modeling and simulation for a very long time,” Henninger said. “What’s different today is the scale of computing power, the availability of data and the advances in machine learning.”

She traced that evolution from early military training simulators employing computer-generated forces to IBM’s Watson and today’s generative AI systems capable of accelerating research, engineering and decision-making.

Henninger said what has changed is not simply the algorithms themselves, but the unprecedented growth in computing power, data availability and machine learning capabilities.

“We’ve improved our processing capability by an extraordinary margin over the last 30 years,” Henninger said. “Combined with the explosion of available data, that has fundamentally changed what AI and modeling and simulation can accomplish together.”

Henninger emphasized M&S now play an increasingly important role in training AI systems by generating synthetic data where real-world examples are limited or impossible to obtain. Applications range from airport security screening and firefighter training to critical infrastructure protection and cybersecurity exercises.

She also highlighted the need to improve the nation’s resilience against both cyberattacks and AI-enabled threats. One concept discussed was expanding digital testing environments similar to the National Cyber Range, allowing government and private-sector organizations to safely evaluate vulnerabilities, train personnel and strengthen infrastructure before attacks occur.

Panel discussions at the summit explored how organizations can establish standards for data quality, governance and interoperability while ensuring AI systems remain transparent, reliable and secure. Participants agreed trustworthy data forms the foundation for effective AI adoption across defense and government operations.

Collaboration emerged as another recurring priority of the event. Speakers emphasized that no single organization can address these challenges alone. Strong partnerships among federal agencies, industry leaders, academic institutions and the M&S community will be essential to developing ethical AI frameworks, advancing technological innovation and maintaining America’s competitive advantage.

As the summit concluded, attendees transitioned into working groups to refine the day’s discussions into concrete recommendations for lawmakers. Recommendations shape future conversations within the Congressional Modeling & Simulation Caucus and contribute to ongoing efforts to develop policies that balance innovation with security, accountability and public trust.

Speakers at the 2026 Congressional M&S Leadership Summit reinforced artificial intelligence and M&S are no longer emerging technologies — they have become foundational capabilities for national resilience.

As AI continues to transform defense, critical infrastructure, healthcare and public safety, the collaboration between policymakers and the M&S community will remain essential to ensuring these technologies are developed and deployed responsibly.