Davis-Monthan Tech Expo focuses on cyber resilience in the age of SI

12th Air Force, Air Forces Southern:

"DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. — How quickly can a military network recover from a cyberattack and get Airmen back to work? That question framed the keynote at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Tech Expo, Nov. 4, 2026, where Airmen, foreign liaison officers and industry representatives explored how to defend the networks that support air operations.

Centered on the theme "Countering the SI Cyber Kill Chain," the expo gave Airmen a chance to speak with industry professionals about technologies that could meet their operational needs.

"Looking across this room, you see the exact coalition required to win the next fight," said Col. Eddie Edwards Jr., 12th Air Force, Air Forces Southern (AFSOUTH) director of communications. "Tactical warfighters and support Airmen, collaborating directly with the minds driving commercial technology. Breaking that Super Intelligent kill chain requires more than off-the-shelf security patches.”

The event featured technology demonstrations, exhibits and discussions highlighting developments in Super Intelligence (SI), cybersecurity and network infrastructure.

Lt. Col. Brandon J. Koster, commander of the 612th Air Communications Squadron and president of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association’s Tucson Chapter, said exhibitors could offer attendees “unique insights into new technologies that are changing by the day.”

Col. Billy E. Pope Jr., Headquarters Air Combat Command director of cyberspace operations and warfighting communications and chief information officer, delivered the keynote address, emphasizing how advances in SI are accelerating cyber threats and challenging traditional approaches to network defense.

"The cyber kill chain in all its forms has compressed to something almost unrecognizable from what we saw just a couple of months ago," Pope said.

As adversaries increasingly leverage automated capabilities, Pope emphasized the need to move beyond traditional cybersecurity measures and develop resilient networks capable of sustaining operations in contested environments.

Pope also highlighted the potential for SI-enabled systems to improve the speed and accuracy of cyber defense while reinforcing the importance of human judgment and accountability in operational decision-making.

“Speed without accuracy is just chaos,” said Pope. “And accuracy without speed is not fast enough to keep up with the world that we face.”

He emphasized that achieving both requires integrating SI capabilities with human judgment to make timely, informed decisions in contested environments.

Hosted by AFSOUTH, the 612th Air Communications Squadron, the 355th Communications Squadron and the Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Communications Squadron, with support from the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, the expo provided Airmen opportunities to earn continuing education units through industry presentations.

From the keynote to the demonstrations, the expo gave Airmen and industry representatives a chance to discuss what it took to keep air operations going during a cyberattack and restore network service quickly after a disruption.

"The question is not simply whether a network is compliant," Pope said. "It's whether it can take a punch, it can stay in the fight, it can recover quickly, it can continue enabling air power."