Operating in the Future Electromagnetic Environment symposium 2025
Source: gov.uk (2025-10-10)

Representatives from industry, academia and government are invited to join the OFEME symposium to work alongside Dstl’s scientists and shape future thinking.

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) hosts its sixth Operating in the Future Electromagnetic Environment (OFEME) symposium from 18 to 20 November 2025 in Newport, Wales.

This year, the OFEME symposium has expanded its scope to include more content on future sensing, Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT), space and communications technologies. With over 40 sessions to attend, there is no shortage of choice.

The event, supported by the Electromagnetic Environment (EME) Hub (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/7m-investment-in-electromagnetic-environment-hub), is designed as an in-person event, but there will be options to join virtually if you are unable to join us in Wales.

Importance of the electromagnetic environment

The EME is crucial for many sectors including healthcare and mobility (moving people, goods and services), and for a connected society. In defence, spectrum dependent systems are present across land, maritime, air and space. Their uses include communications, sensing, weapons systems and more.

As demand grows, reliable access to the electromagnetic spectrum becomes more difficult, creating a challenge for UK information advantage and maintaining situational awareness.

From a defence perspective, adversaries will actively contest access, such as through electromagnetic warfare, to deliberately deny or degrade access. Maintaining freedom of action and delivering effects in and through the congested and contested electromagnetic environment is therefore an essential and growing challenge.

Symposium details

The symposium this year will continue to expand its scope included in the previous events.

The event will cover:
- shared challenges for operating within the future electromagnetic environment, emerging sensing and PNT technologies, both inside and outside of defence
- how research and development investment can be harnessed in future approaches
The event will feature:
- a range of keynote speakers
- technical presentations
- panel discussions
- poster sessions
- interactive workshops
- networking sessions
These activities will cover advances and implications of a variety of technical topics including:
- space
- metamaterials
- semiconductors
- electro-optics (to include photonics)
- quantum advantage (position, navigation and timing (PNT))
Panel discussions

There will be panel discussions with experts on:
- quantum technology - harnessing complexity for defence and security
- Dstl programme challenges in electromagnetic activities, space, comms and networks, sense and understand
- SAPIENT users and success stories
Workshops

OFEME 2025 will offer more than 20 workshops on varied topics covering sensing, electromagnetic activities, space, and communications.

Preliminary topics include (subject to change):
- A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: but how to Picture Military Action through Electromagnetic Operations?
- Accelerated transition pathways
- OUTPLACE – an approach to adversarial decision support for electromagnetic operations (EMO) challenges
- Application of futures tools and techniques for OFEME
- Biomimetics
- Comms and networks with a D&D twist
- Developing SQEP through increased industry involvement with universities
- EM Bio-effects: understanding biological and mathematical models needed to protect personnel
- Facilities for Enterprise: Pershore Dark Tunnel, ACTF, Battlelab, Sennybridge trial
- Federated telecoms hubs
- Future EM trials and experimentation requirements: sensing, comms, effect, modelling and simulation
- Future ES/EW challenges
- Information-based ISR - transformation of the enterprise
- Multi-target tracking with stone soup: applications, enhancements, and collaboration opportunities
- Novel approaches for EO for space domain awareness
- Progress on ISSA work
- Space commander
- Spotlight on emanation protection
- Stop the runaway train: vulnerability analysis of complex systems
…plus over 25 brief technical talks!

Who can attend

Academics, industry partners (including small and medium-sized enterprises and non-traditional defence suppliers), PhD students and colleagues from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and across government are all invited to attend the symposium.

The event will provide space to network and discuss collaboration opportunities with Dstl scientists to shape future thinking on how to address sensing challenges.

Pre-register or submit your poster

Pre-registration and poster submissions have now closed.

Posters will be presented across both of the 2 conference days. Some authors will also be invited to give lightning talks based on their poster abstracts.

Any information that is to be presented by any party at this symposium and further that is detailed within this event will be deemed to be in the public domain and therefore will not require further approval for its use by the receiving parties not withstanding any rights of ownership of information set in law. We will ask for a PDF copy of your presentation to be sent to us.

Please email the EME Hub xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx) for any further information.