UNMANNED x KIVI/KNVTS [UNMANNED III]

After two powerful and story-driven editions that challenged convention and sparked deep dialogue, the third installment of the UNMANNED series returns this fall—September 25–26, 2025, at the iconic KIVI building in The Hague.

This time, we're scaling up.

The Story Continues

From the ancient fireships of Tyre to today’s AI-enabled USVs, the UNMANNED series has always framed technological change within a broader human and historical arc.

Our narrative-driven format brings context to technologic complexity — anchoring innovation in strategy, science, experience, and the realities of modern warfighting.

Now, in UNMANNED III, we're broadening our Horizons.

This edition will, for the first time, explore four domains:

• Surface – autonomous fleets and modular naval assets

• Subsurface – UUVs and the contest for control beneath the waves

• Airpower – the rise of low-cost, intelligent aerial systems

• Land – robotic platforms and AI-enabled support in terrestrial conflict

  
  

Voices Across the Alliance

We’ll be bringing in guest speakers from across NATO and allied nations —bringing firsthand insights from the newest experimentation, deployments, and doctrine development.

Whether from the front lines, command centers, strategy groups, or multinational defense R&D units, these speakers will add depth and diversity to our conversation in the Hague.

More Space. More Days. More Stories.

For the first time, UNMANNED will run over two full days. September 25 and 26 will be packed with keynote sessions, focused panels, open-floor debates, and interactive showcases — all designed to engage operators, engineers, analysts, and industry leaders in meaningful conversation.

This expanded format reflects the growing demand for a forum that blends technical excellence with engaging narratives, and brings together stakeholders across all domains and backgrounds.

Call for Sponsors & Speakers Now Open

We are currently welcoming expressions of interest from:

• Speakers with operational, academic, or industry expertise in any of the four domains

• Sponsors aligned with the event’s mission to advance responsible, scalable innovation in defense, anchored in Defence community development

• Innovators and Disruptors with a story to tell, and a voice to be heard across the Defence & Security community

Whether you’re part of a startup pushing the frontier of autonomy, a policy-maker rethinking procurement processes, or a technologist forging tomorrow’s autonomous platforms — this is your stage.

Join the Story in The Hague

UNMANNED III will be more than a conference. It will be the start of a community. A place where emerging ideas meet operational demands, where history frames the future, and where innovation finds its targets.

📍 The Hague – KIVI Building

📅 September 25–26, 2025

🌐 Now accepting speaker and sponsor submissions

Join us on this Journey. Join the UNMANNED community.