7TH MOUNTAIN WARFARE CONGRESS

Congress Agenda

Zakopane, Poland 26–29 October 2026

The programme provides the latest schedule of Congress activities, including keynote speeches, panel discussions, wargaming sessions and Industry Day activities.

The programme may be subject to adjustments.

CONGRESS MODERATOR
Colonel (GS) Matthias WASINGER, PhD (AUT)
26
Monday · 26 October 2026

Arrival & In-Processing

15:00
19:00
ADMINISTRATION

In-Processing & Lecturer Preparation

Participant in-processing and preparation activities for Congress lecturers and speakers.

27
Tuesday · 27 October 2026

Strategic Context & Multi-Domain Operations

07:30
ADMINISTRATION

Late In-Processing

08:30
08:45
ADMINISTRATION

Admin Briefing

Briefing
OF-5 Italo G. SPINI (ITA)
Deputy Director / Chief of Staff · NATO MW COE
08:45
09:00
OPENING

Welcome Speech

OF-5 Leon HOLC (SVN)
Director · NATO Mountain Warfare Centre of Excellence
09:00
09:15
OPENING

Welcome Speech

Poland · Host Nation
09:15
10:00
KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Fighting in Restricted and Mountainous Terrain in the Drone Age

Colonel (Ret.) John ANTAL (USA)

How unmanned systems, artificial intelligence, precision strike and autonomous technologies are changing combat in restricted and mountainous terrain, with implications for force structure, leadership, training, manoeuvre and operational design.

10:00
11:00
PANEL I · PART I

NATO's Deterrence and Defence Adaptation

PANELIST PRESENTATIONS

Individual contributions presenting the panelists' perspectives and key considerations as a basis for the subsequent panel discussion.

Col Leon HOLC (SVN)
Director · NATO MW COE
Why Mountain Warfare Matters for NATO's Future
LTC (Ret.) Glen GRANT (GBR) Conducts of Contemporary Wars
LTC Damijan SLIVEČKA (NATO) NDPP Capability Requirement Review 28 Methodology (ACT SEE)
11:00
11:30
BREAK

Coffee Break

11:30
12:50
PANEL I · PART II

NATO's Deterrence and Defence Adaptation

PANEL DISCUSSION
Congress Moderator Colonel (GS) Matthias WASINGER, PhD (AUT)
Panel Chair Captain (N) Peter PAPLER (SVN)

Moderated discussion examining how contemporary warfare, NATO defence planning and the strategic characteristics of mountain terrain are shaping the future employment and development of mountain forces.

Panelists
Leon HOLC Glen GRANT Damijan SLIVEČKA Vegard FLOM
13:00
14:30
LUNCH & INDUSTRY

Lunch & Industry Engagement

Industry Exhibition Open · Same venue
14:30
16:00
PANEL II · PART I

Multi-Domain Operations in Mountain Environments

PANELIST PRESENTATIONS

Individual contributions introducing operational perspectives, concepts and key issues for the subsequent panel discussion.

Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Glen GRANT (GBR) Mountain Warfare in the Age of Autonomous Systems
Captain (N) Peter PAPLER (SVN) NATO's Deterrence and Defence Adaptation, Multi-Domain Operations and Mountain Warfare
Colonel (GS) Matthias WASINGER, PhD (AUT) Winning the Heights: A European Concept of Multi-Domain Operations in the Mountain Environment
16:00
17:00
BREAK

Coffee Break & Industry

Industry Exhibition Open · Same venue
17:00
18:00
PANEL II · PART II

Multi-Domain Operations in Mountain Environments

PANEL DISCUSSION
Congress Moderator Colonel (GS) Matthias WASINGER, PhD (AUT)
Panel Chair Captain (N) Peter PAPLER (SVN)

Moderated discussion on how mountain terrain affects operational design across domains, including manoeuvre, logistics, communications, autonomous systems, infrastructure and coalition interoperability.

18:00
DAY CLOSURE

Closing Remarks / Outlook

Colonel (GS) Matthias WASINGER, PhD (AUT)
Congress Moderator
18:30
22:00
SOCIAL EVENT

Host Nation Dinner

Hosted by Poland
28
Wednesday · 28 October 2026

Training, Innovation & Capability Development

08:30
08:40
DAY OPENING

Wrap-Up Previous Day

Colonel (GS) Matthias WASINGER, PhD (AUT)
Congress Moderator
08:40
09:00
SENIOR LEADER ADDRESS

Training Mountain Forces for Tomorrow: Readiness, Adaptation and Force Structure

Major General Alberto VEZZOLI (ITA)
Commander of the Italian Alpine Troops

A senior command perspective on the training requirements of contemporary mountain forces, the competencies needed for current and future operations, and the implications for readiness, adaptation and force structure.

09:00
09:30
KEYNOTE

Training for the Drone Age and What Must Change

Colonel (Ret.) John ANTAL (USA)

How military education and training must evolve for contested, data-rich and technology-enabled battlefields, integrating unmanned systems while developing leaders able to operate under persistent surveillance, electronic attack and degraded communications.

09:30
10:30
PANEL III · PART I

Training for Mountain Warfare

PANELIST PRESENTATIONS

Individual contributions from the panelists presenting their perspectives, experience and key considerations for the subsequent moderated discussion.

OF-4 Tihomir KLARIĆ (HRV) Training for Mountain Warfare NATO collective training, realistic operational scenarios, experimentation, Lessons Learned and doctrine development.
Major General (Ret.) Tudorică PETRACHE (ROU) Challenges of Mountain Training for Modern Warfare
Colonel Heimo TEMMEL (AUT) Mountain Cell and Mountain Warfare
Colonel (GS) Peter HOFER (AUT) Future Decision Making in “Triple S” Environment
Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Artur ZIELICHOWSKI, PhD (POL) Wargaming for Training the Leaders for the Future High-Intensity Warfare with Unmanned Systems
10:30
11:00
BREAK

Coffee Break & Industry

Industry Exhibition Open · Same venue
11:00
12:00
PANEL III · PART II

Training for Mountain Warfare

PANEL DISCUSSION
Congress Moderator Colonel (GS) Matthias WASINGER, PhD (AUT)
Panel Chair OF-4 Tihomir KLARIĆ (HRV)
KEY QUESTION How must Mountain Warfare training and decision-making evolve to prepare NATO forces for the challenges of current and future operations in complex mountain environments?
Panelists
Tihomir KLARIĆ Tudorică PETRACHE Heimo TEMMEL Peter HOFER Artur ZIELICHOWSKI
12:00
14:00
LUNCH & INDUSTRY

Lunch & Industry Engagement

Industry Exhibition Open · Same venue
14:00
15:30
PANEL IV · PART I

From Peaks to Partnerships: Innovation, Interoperability and Capability Development

PANELIST PRESENTATIONS
Operational Demand → Innovation & Validation → Operational Lessons → Doctrine & Standards → Fielded Capability
OF-4 Marcus STURM (DEU) Building Future Mountain Capabilities through Innovation and Interoperability
OF-4 (GS) Martin SPENSBERGER (DEU) From Operational Challenges to Future Capabilities
Dr Anton LESNICAR (DEU) From Dual-Use Innovation to Operational Effect in Mountain Warfare
UKR Defense University Representative UAS Employment Innovation and Rapid Adaptation — Lessons from Ukraine
15:30
16:30
BREAK & INDUSTRY

Coffee Break & Industry

Industry Exhibition Open · Same venue
16:30
17:15
PANEL IV · PART II

From Peaks to Partnerships: Innovation, Interoperability and Capability Development

PANEL DISCUSSION
Congress Moderator Colonel (GS) Matthias WASINGER, PhD (AUT)
Panel Chair OF-4 Marcus STURM (DEU)
KEY QUESTION How can NATO translate operational challenges and dual-use innovation into validated, interoperable capabilities for mountain forces more quickly?
17:15
17:30
DAY CLOSURE

Closing Remarks / Outlook

Colonel (GS) Matthias WASINGER, PhD (AUT)
Congress Moderator
17:30
18:30
INDUSTRY

Industry Engagement & Closure

Industry Exhibition Open · Same venue
Evening
DINNER · INVITED GUESTS

Guest Address

Colonel (Ret.) John ANTAL (USA)
GUEST ADDRESS
Distributed Mission Command and Distributed Logistics
29
Thursday · 29 October 2026

Arctic Operations & Unmanned Systems

08:30
08:40
DAY OPENING

Wrap-Up Previous Day

Colonel (GS) Matthias WASINGER, PhD (AUT)
Congress Moderator
08:40
10:15
PANEL V · PART I

Cold Truths: Mountain Forces in the Arctic

PANELIST PRESENTATIONS
OF-4 Dušan BREBURDA (CZE) CORE26 Lessons – Setting the Conditions for the Discussion
OF-5 Fredrik ANDERSSON (SWE) Preparing Mountain Forces for Arctic Operations
OF-3 Mikael AIKIO (FIN) Arctic Readiness and Survivability
OF-5 Vegard FLOM (NOR) Operating and Sustaining Forces in Arctic and Cold Weather Environments
OF-4 Roberto Fernández BLANCO (ESP) Adapting Mountain Forces to Arctic Operations — Lessons from CORE26
Dr Anna WEST Extreme Cold Protection & Human Performance
10:15
11:00
PANEL V · PART II

Cold Truths: Mountain Forces in the Arctic

PANEL DISCUSSION
Congress Moderator Colonel (GS) Matthias WASINGER, PhD (AUT)
Panel Chair OF-4 Dušan BREBURDA (CZE)
DISCUSSION FOCUS To what extent can existing mountain forces transition directly to Arctic operations, and where does the Arctic require fundamentally different preparation, equipment, procedures or operational thinking?
11:00
11:30
BREAK

Coffee Break

11:30
12:15
PANEL VI · PART I

Unmanned Systems in Mountain Warfare

PANELIST PRESENTATIONS
OF-5 Italo G. SPINI (ITA) Unmanned Systems, Tactics, Techniques and Procedures, and the NATO MW COE 2027 Course
Vlado REHLICKI · ORQA UAS Operator Training for Contested Environment ORQA / UNIFORCE contribution
Federico AINA & Luca MUNARETTO C-UAS Solutions for Mountain Warfare AQUILA Mountain Terrain Solution
Piotr TŁUSZCZ & Rodolfo “Tito” SOSA
Rodolfo “Tito” Sosa · International Business Development, Growth & Innovation · Defense Division · MOOG Inc.
Mobile, Modular Counter-UAS Capability: Da Orffo Tactical Mobility + MOOG FMP Mission Integration Da Orffo Automotive / MOOG Inc.
12:15
13:00
PANEL VI · PART II

Unmanned Systems in Mountain Warfare

PANEL DISCUSSION
Congress Moderator Colonel (GS) Matthias WASINGER, PhD (AUT)
Panel Chair OF-5 Italo G. SPINI (ITA)
Deputy Director / Chief of Staff · NATO MW COE
Panelists
Italo G. SPINI Vlado REHLICKI Federico AINA Luca MUNARETTO Piotr TŁUSZCZ Rodolfo “Tito” SOSA
13:00
13:30
OFFICIAL CLOSURE

7th Mountain Warfare Congress — Official Closure

13:30
14:30
LUNCH

Lunch

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