AED Days 2025
3-5 June, Oeiras. Portugal’s premier aerospace, defence & space summit, featuring high-level speakers, industrial visits, and B2B opportunities under the theme "The Aeronautics, Space and Defence Industries in the New Global Geopolitics".
AED Cluster Portugal, in partnership with Oeiras City Council, is organising the 12th edition of AED Days from 3 to 5 June 2025, an event that has established itself as the main national and international meeting point for the aeronautics, space and defence sectors.
With the central theme "The aeronautics, space and defence industries in the new global geopolitics", this year’s edition will bring together companies, policymakers, government bodies, research centres and representatives of international organisations to reflect on the impacts of the new geopolitical dynamics and Portugal’s role in these strategic sectors.
High-level Portuguese and international speakers
AED Days 2025 will feature keynote speakers and panellists from some of the most relevant companies and institutions in the aerospace, space and defence sectors.
Journalists attending the event will have the opportunity to interact with several of these high-level speakers, subject to availability, during dedicated moments throughout the programme. Confirmed speakers include:
• Hugo Espírito Santo – Secretary of State for Infrastructure at the Portuguese Government
• José Neves – President at AED Cluster Portugal
• Thierry Closset – Project Officer, SES Collaborative Projects from European Defence Agency
• Ricardo Conde – Presidente at Portuguese Space Agency
• Heriberto Salvidar – Head of the Department of Strategy at European Space Agency
• J.R. McDonald – Vice President F35 Business Development at Lockheed Martin
• Daniel Boestad – Vice President – Gripen Business Development at SAAB AB
• Jose Luis Miguel Cortes – Senior Vice President Europe at Airbus Defence & Space
• Michael Formosa – Managing Partner at Renaissance Strategic Advisors
Find more speakers here.
This year's edition addresses an unavoidable theme for the future of our industries: the impact of the new global geopolitics.
A varied programme over three days
The AED Days 2025 programme includes four major events:
• The TALKS conference (3 June) opens the event with a series of high-level debates between national and international experts, focusing on the trends and challenges of the three industries.
• Sustainable Aviation Talks (4 June) return with a focus on sustainable solutions and innovations underway in the aviation sector.
• 5 June is reserved for industrial visits to some of the main national companies in the field, promoting direct contact with the technology and capabilities installed in Portugal.
• Throughout the event, participants will also have access to a Technology Showcase, Networking Lunches and face-to-face and digital B2B Meetings.
Explore the programme here.
An industry with a real impact
The aeronautics, space and defence industries are some of the most important in the European and international context. The AED Cluster Portugal, which includes the Aeronautics, Space and Defence areas, has more than 150 entities, including large international groups such as Airbus or Embraer, national SMEs and research institutes, and expects to reach 160 before the summer.
The AED Cluster Portugal ecosystem represents around 20,000 skilled jobs and reached a turnover of 2.1 billion euros in 2024. The importance of the cluster in Portugal has been growing steadily, and it is already a strategic component of the national industrial and economic fabric.
Institutional reinforcement and growing membership
The 2025 edition will be attended by various institutional and government bodies, whose speeches are available in the official programme. The growing attendance at each new edition proves that AED Days is the benchmark event for these sectors.
According to Rui Santos, Managing Director of AED Cluster Portugal: "This year's edition addresses an unavoidable theme for the future of our industries: the impact of the new global geopolitics. The aeronautics, space and defence industries are at the heart of technological transformation, European sovereignty and international security. Our audience's consistent growth confirms the interest and relevance of the event, which is an essential platform for strengthening Portugal's strategic position in these value chains."
With more than 650 participants in the last edition, AED Days 2025 promises to continue its momentum of growth and international relevance, opening doors to new business opportunities, collaboration and innovation.