2026 industry trade shows - Updated

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DOD Maintenance Symposium: Jan 20–23, 2026 | Phoenix, AZ. The only official DOD event focused entirely on the maintenance and sustainment of weapon systems.

• Rescheduling Context: Originally impacted by a late-2025 government shutdown, the symposium successfully ran in Phoenix with over 2,300 maintainers and logisticians attending.
• Thematic Focus: Held under the theme "Advancing Readiness to Exploit the Logistics Deterrent Effect," discussions emphasized deployable maintenance, supply chain resilience and explosive safety innovations.
• Award Winner: The Marine Depot Maintenance Command (MDMC) won the Maintenance Innovation Challenge People's Choice Award

AUSA Global Force Symposium & Exposition: March 24–26, 2026 | Huntsville, AL. Explores capabilities for Army modernization and strategic divestiture.

• Modernization Focus: Drew over 7,000 visitors to the Von Braun Center, focusing on streamlined army acquisition, data integration for offensive/defensive fires and defense contracting.
• Industrial Base: Leaders emphasized that the Army cannot modernize without building a faster, deeply connected contracting enterprise to maintain overmatch in great power competitions. 

Sea-Air-Space: April 19–22, 2026 | National Harbor, MD. The premier maritime exposition in the U.S., connecting military leaders with maritime domain advancements.

• Ocean Transparency: Senior Navy and defense leaders convened a high-level panel on maintaining global maritime dominance through 2030, navigating what they called "an era of unprecedented transparency in the world's oceans."
• Rapid Iteration: Forums highlighted the immediate need to rapidly iterate autonomous and unmanned systems across all domains due to swift shifts in global flashpoints.

Modern Day Marine: April 28–30, 2026 | Washington, D.C. The largest military equipment and technology exposition for the Marine Corps.

• Commandant's Priorities: General Eric Smith (39th Commandant) addressed the expo, focusing on returning to a 3.0 Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) presence and deploying stand-in forces within adversary weapons engagement zones.
• Next-Gen Strategy: Dedicated pavilions emphasized the tactical integration of informational warfare and electronic effects into traditional Marine combined arms strategies. 

SOF Week: May 18–22, 2026 | Tampa, FL. Sponsored by USSOCOM, this is the primary annual conference for the international Special Operations Forces community.

• Massive Turnout: Welcomed over 25,000 global attendees and 864 exhibitors, creating a hub for international nation-to-nation bilateral meetings.
• "Battle in the Bay": USSOCOM hosted its highly anticipated, signature live capability simulation along Tampa’s waterfront, demonstrating elite maritime, aerial and tactical drone integration.
• New Airport Outpost: Debuted "The Outpost" at Peter O. Knight Airport, allowing vendors to showcase large-scale, active aviation assets.

NASCC: The Steel Conference: April 22–24, 2026 | Atlanta, GA. Premier event for steel building and bridge construction.

• Automation Wave: Drawing thousands of structural steel fabricators to Atlanta, the massive expo floor hummed with live demonstrations of truck-sized plate processors and cutting-edge autonomous welding robots.
• Technical Tracks: Over 300 sessions went deep into practical steel building design, hybrid steel-and-timber engineering, and novel floor plate efficiencies. 

Metalcasting Congress: April 14–16, 2026 | Grand Rapids, MI. North America's landmark event for metalcasting industry professionals.

• Industry Showcases: Under the banner "Shaping Tomorrow in Metalcasting," over 250 casting suppliers and foundry experts focused on smart manufacturing and EHS safety practices.
• Student Spotlight: Grand Rapids concurrently hosted the popular Cast in Steel student competition, where university teams were challenged to forge functional, historically accurate medieval horseman’s axes

IMTS (International Manufacturing Technology Show): Sept 14–19, 2026 | Chicago, IL. One of the largest industrial trade shows in the world, showcasing CNC machining and digital manufacturing.

FABTECH: Oct 21–23, 2026 | Las Vegas, NV. North America's largest event for metal forming, fabricating, welding, and finishing.

METALCON: Oct 7–9, 2026 | Orlando, FL. Dedicated exclusively to the application of metal in construction and design. 

POWERGEN International: Jan 19–22, 2026 | San Antonio, TX. A major global business hub for power generation and technology.

• AI and Energy: Keynotes highlighted partnerships (including a joint presentation by Westinghouse and Google Cloud) utilizing AI to optimize nuclear construction and manage massive grid load demands.
• Grid Resilience: Prominent executive panel tracks focused directly on evaluating the real-world data and success metrics of the Texas grid weatherization initiatives

DLA Energy Worldwide Event: April 21–23, 2026 | Arlington, VA. A flagship forum for energy logistics and national security.

• Logistics & Security: Focused heavily on securing global supply lines for defense fuels and energy security alternatives amid ongoing geopolitical friction. 

IEEE PES T&D Conference & Exposition: May 4–7, 2026 | Chicago, IL. The leading global event for power transmission and distribution.

•  Grid Modernization: Groundbreaking product reveals emphasized solid-state transformers, grid hardening architectures against severe weather, and high-voltage direct current (HVDC) line expansions 

Energy Projects Show (EPC Show): June 16–17, 2026 | Houston, TX. Focuses on the lifecycle of major energy projects, from engineering to site selection.

RE+ (formerly Solar Power International): Nov 16–19, 2026 | Las Vegas, NV. The largest clean energy event in North America.