The 2025 Concept Development plus Wargaming in NATO Conference (CD & WIN 2025) will take place between the 18th and 20th November 2025 in Verona, Italia.
Registration Link: Click here
Registration ends October 31, 2025 11:59 PM
Since 2001, the NATO Concept Development and Experimentation Conference has been the annual forum of the Headquarters Supreme Allied Command Transformation (HQ SACT) that provides the international concept development community and stakeholders with a unique opportunity to discuss current efforts in concept development and experimentation within the warfighting and warfare development processes.
WIN has previously provided an opportunity for NATO senior leaders to gain hands-on experience with wargaming techniques and its use in NATO. Previous WIN events have successfully garnered support for the continued growth and use of wargaming in NATO. This year, WIN is focused on practitioners of wargaming so we can continue to grow, refine, and learn from one another fostering improved wargaming in NATO.
This year, the combined conference will provide an additional opportunity to promote collaboration between the concept development and wargaming communities by bringing together civilian and military practitioners from the NATO Force/Command Structure, allied nations, industry, and academia. The conference will feature lectures on specific topics and dynamic discussions.
Theme:
The main theme of this year’s interdisciplinary conference will focus on “Shaping NATO’s Future in an Era of Disruptive Change: The Role of Concept Development and Wargaming”.
Provisional Topics (among others):
- Future Force Study in ACT
- Assessment on Current Concept Development Projects
- Strategic Decision Making on Wargaming
- Wartime Concept Development
- Wargaming Based on Ukraine Experience
- Lessons Learned – Changes in Concept Development
- Role of AI In Wargaming
- SACT’s Intention and driving Stakeholder in NATO
Objectives:
The CD & WIN 2025 – main objectives are:
- present current results of conceptual efforts with analysis on wargaming experimentation and lessons learned,
- build relationships and promote a networked environment that stimulates information-sharing, collaboration, inspiration and best practices,
- identify and exploit common areas of interest, building communities that innovate with purpose and coherence,
- engage with partners, educate on CD and Wargaming processes and interests, share best practices and lessons learned; and
- provide a unique opportunity for the wider NATO community to discuss the most current issues relating to CD and Wargaming.
Agenda:
The Conference is a 3-day event, delivering a mix of plenary sessions, engaging speakers, workshops and networking opportunities with practical approaches for the application and synergy between concept development and wargaming for future force development. An invite-only classified wargaming session is scheduled for 20 November 2025. Special invitations and instructions will be sent to selected attendees.
Attendance:
The conference focuses on commissioned officers at the OF-5 level and below, as well as their civilian equivalents.
The following fields are encouraged to attend, as applicable:
Concept Development, Experimentation & Wargaming, Research and Development, Science and Technology, Doctrine Development, Military Transformation, Battle Laboratories, Centres of Excellence, Academia, the Defence Industry and Subject Matter Experts based on specific workshops/seminars. Attendees can be from a NATO entities, Partnership for Peace Programme or Mediterranean Dialogue nations.
Security Classification and Language:
The general program content is not classified and can be released to the public. On the third day, there will be a classified part that is limited to the wargaming community and not public.
It is presented and published in English; there are no translation services available during the conference or panel discussions.
CD & WIN Working Groups:
National delegates of the CD Working Group and the CD community of the Centres of Excellence, along with attendees from the wargaming communities of interest are invited to meet at the same venue one day prior to the combined conference (17 November 2025).
A formal invitation letter containing the agenda together with administrative details and accommodation information will be released in due course. Participants are not expected to make any arrangement prior to that notice.
Contact of the Coordination Team: [email protected]
Lead Planner for WIN Community
Lieutenant Colonel (A) RESTELLI
SO Wargaming & Experimentation
Multi Domain Force Development Directorate, NATO HQ SACT
Lead Planner for CD Community
Commander (N) SIEGEL
SO Concept Development
Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate, NATO HQ SACT
Technical Planner
Captain (A) KARATAS
SO Concept Development
Capability Development Directorate, NATO HQ SACT
Previous Conferences:
2024 International Concept Development and Experimentation (ICDE) Conference
NATO’s 2024 International Concept Development and Experimentation conference took place from October 29 to October 31, 2024 in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The conference synopsis can be downloaded here.
A Multi-Domain Approach:
This conference brought together 230 experts from 27 NATO member, and five partner, nations to discuss the evolving security landscape and the need for a comprehensive, multi-domain approach. By integrating capabilities across land, maritime, air, space, and cyber domains, NATO aims to enhance its ability to deter and respond to threats.
The Role of Non-Military Actors:
The conference emphasized the crucial role of non-military actors in achieving Multi-Domain Operations objectives. Government agencies, academia, industry, and international organizations bring unique perspectives and innovative solutions that can significantly contribute to NATO’s capabilities. By fostering collaboration with these actors, the Alliance can accelerate the development and deployment of cutting-edge technologies.
2023 International Concept Development and Experimentation (ICDE) Conference
The 2023 International Concept Development and Experimentation Conference was held from 31 October until 02 November 2023 at Norfolk, VA, USA.
Click here for the 2023 Conference Synopsis.
Since 2001, the International Concept Development and Experimentation (ICDE) Conference has been the annual forum of the Supreme Allied Command Transformation that provides a unique opportunity for the international Concept Development and Experimentation community and stakeholders to discuss the most current efforts of concept development and experimentation in the warfighting and warfare development process.
Theme:
The main theme of this year’s conference “on the path to a Multi-Domain enabled Alliance” reflected the focus on the Warfare Development Agenda and CD&E’s contribution to Alliance future orientation.
Objectives:
ICDE 2023 – main objectives
- present current results of conceptual efforts with impact on warfighting and future warfare development.
- build relationships and promote a networked CD&E environment that stimulates information-sharing, collaboration, inspiration and best practices.
- identify and exploit common areas of interest, building communities that innovate with purpose and coherence.
- engage with partners, educate on CD&E processes and interests, share best practices and lessons learned.
- maintain the common effort for NATO future concept development.
Agenda:
The Conference was a 3-day event, delivering a mix of plenary sessions, engaging speakers, workshops and networking opportunities.
ACT Lead Planner
Commander Stefan JAKOBI
SO Concept Development
Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate
HQ SACT
[email protected]
2022 International Concept Development and Experimentation (ICDE) Conference
The in-person event took place from 25 until 27 October 2022 at the Marriott Hotel in Budapest; the Hungarian Defence Forces Command hosted the event.
Since 2001, the International Concept Development and Experimentation Conference has been Allied Command Transformation’s annual forum that provides a unique opportunity for the international Concept Development and Experimentation community and stakeholders to discuss the most current issues of concept development and experimentation.
After virtual editions in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, the conference setting not only provided interesting topics and discussion, but many opportunities to reconnect and collaborate in a great setting.
Theme:
The 2022 International Concept Development and Experimentation Conference focused on how Concept Development and Experimentation contributes to the Alliance Warfare Development Agenda. Highlights included keynote addresses, interactive panel discussions, and the ‘CD&E Exchange’, a mini-expo promoting Concept Development and Experimentation initiatives.
While informing through these plenary sessions, the Conference was product/output oriented through workshops in support of ongoing projects connected to its theme.
Main Objectives:
- Revitalize collaborative exchange within the Concept Development and Experimentation community of interest after two years of virtual conferencing;
- Build relationships and promote a networked Concept Development and Experimentation environment that stimulates information-sharing, collaboration, inspiration and best practices;
- Identify and exploit common areas of interest, building communities that innovate with purpose and coherence;
- Engage with partners, educate on Concept Development and Experimentation processes and interests, share best practices and lessons learned;
- Further thinking and contribute to Warfare Development Agenda and NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept deliverables.
Agenda:
The Conference was a 3-day event, delivering a mix of plenary and panel sessions, engaging speakers, workshops and networking opportunities.
Conference Lead Planner:
Lieutenant Colonel Guy DE DECKER
Staff Officer Concept Development, Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate
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2020 International CD&E Conference:
The conference took place from 26-29 October 2020. Originally planned as a 20th Anniversary event in Paris, due to the exceptional circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Conference was changed to a virtual event. In the spirit of CD&E, the event was a bold experiment in exploiting the virtual format to the fullest.
| Conference Synopsis | ICDE Conference Fact Sheet | CDE Exchange Fact Sheet |
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2019 International CD&E Conference:
The 2019 International Concept Development and Experimentation Conference took place in Madrid, Spain, 29-31 October 2019. The photos and conference reports can be found below.