Explore the Future of Defense and Innovation: UC San Diego Park & Market Serves as Premier Venue During AFCEA WEST 2025 Conference
San Diego will become the epicenter of cutting-edge military and defense innovation as the AFCEA WEST 2025 Conference comes to town.
Known as the premier naval conference and exposition on the West Coast, the event is a must-attend for industry leaders, military professionals, and academia seeking to address the most pressing challenges in defense and security. This year, attendees can look forward to an extraordinary addition to the conference’s program—a special UC San Diego-hosted event at Park & Market, in collaboration with the university’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC).
What is AFCEA WEST?
Scheduled to take place at the San Diego Convention Center from January 28 to 30, 2025, the AFCEA WEST Conference is co-sponsored by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) and the U.S. Naval Institute.
The event serves as a dynamic forum to connect the industry professionals who design and build the platforms, equipment and weapons with the designers of communications and technical systems. To complete their missions successfully, more than 150,000 professionals in the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard who live in the San Diego area depend on the open discussions and valuable networking WEST provides.
Senior military and government officials talk directly to the operators to gain valuable feedback. Industry leaders attend because they can connect with decision-makers and operators over the three-day event.
The 2025 event theme, The Future is Now: Are We Advancing Operational Capabilities That Pace the Threat?, reflects the critical need for collaborative solutions to address evolving security threats.
Spotlight on UC San Diego’s Park & Market
Complementing the high-energy discussions at the Convention Center, UC San Diego Park & Market is a premier off-site location for AFCEA-related events. Located just minutes from the San Diego Convention Center, where the main AFCEA sessions and the exhibit hall will proceed, Park & Market’s state-of-the-art meeting spaces are ideal for hosting collaborative sessions that can benefit from modern facilities and flexible room configurations.
UC San Diego campus partners at the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) will join Park & Market this year in featuring a Five Eyes reception, presented by UC San Diego’s National Security Innovation Catalyst, to celebrate the US, UK, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand presence at AFCEA West.
UC San Diego’s Catalyst
The Five Eyes reception is an initiative presented by UC San Diego’s National Security Innovation Catalyst. Focused on the intersection of technology, policy, and global security, Catalyst brings together experts to discuss pressing issues such as international relations, conflict prevention, and the role of emerging technologies in fostering peace and stability.
Launched in 2019 with support from IGCC and UC San Diego, the initiative aims to drive more and better investment in and adoption of security innovations by strengthening connections between innovators, researchers, investors and policymakers.
Learn More
The AFCEA WEST Conference represents a unique convergence of thought leadership, technological innovation, and cross-sector collaboration. Attendees have unparalleled opportunities to gain a deeper understanding of global security challenges and the technologies and strategies poised to address them.
Learn more about AFCEA WEST 2025 at the official conference website.
Learn more about Catalyst at UC San Diego.