The AFITC conference, now branded DAFITC, is the annual Air Force information technology and cyberpower training and education event in Montgomery, Alabama. The latest edition ran August 24-26, 2026, at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa, according to the event site.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Department of the Air Force Information Technology & Cyberpower Training and Education Event (DAFITC) |
| Latest edition | August 24-26, 2026, Montgomery, AL |
| 2026 theme | Accelerating the Digital Edge: From Enterprise to Orbit |
| Venue | Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa at the Convention Center, 201 Tallapoosa Street |
| Scale in 2026 | 140+ breakouts, 200+ vendor booths, over 4,000 attendees, speakers and exhibitors |
| Open to the public? | No, registration is required |
Source: the official DAFITC site for the name, dates, theme and scale, and its registration page for the venue and public access. This guide covers the history, the name change, what happens at the event, who attends, and where to find official information.
What AFITC and DAFITC are
The DAFITC site describes the event as a training and education event where thousands of Air Force peers and private sector leaders in IT and cybersecurity gather to network, discuss, connect and learn about the newest threats to global networks and national defense. The 2026 theme, per the same site, is “Accelerating the Digital Edge: From Enterprise to Orbit.”
The Montgomery Regional Chamber of Commerce calls DAFITC the Department of Defense’s largest IT and cyberspace event, and says the Department of the Air Force considers it critical to its mission because it fosters an exchange of ideas among government, academia and private industry.
The event is not a general-interest trade show. The official registration page states that it is not open to the general public, and registration is required to attend. The rules for getting in are covered in the AFITC and DAFITC registration guide.
A short history: from AFITC to DAFITC
The documented milestones, year by year:
- 2016: The Air Force Information Technology and Cyberpower event returned to Montgomery in August 2016 after a four-year hiatus. A recap on the event site reports more than 3,000 attendees, 100 exhibitors and nearly 60 sessions over three days at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel.
- 2017: WSFA described the AFITC as the largest annual Air Force tech event of the year, taking place in downtown Montgomery. A Chamber of Commerce representative estimated 3,000 to 6,000 people registered and put daily traffic at around 3,500 to 6,000.
- 2020: The archived registration page still used the AFITC name and the title “Air Force Information Technology & Cyberpower Education and Training Event.”
- 2022: The Chamber’s recap uses the DAFITC name and places the event downtown on August 29-31 under the theme “A Resilient Digital Air and Space Force: Enabling Deterrence Through Cyber.”
- 2023: Air University Public Affairs announced DAFITC 2023 for August 28-30 in downtown Montgomery, with digital transformation as the central focus and about 200 vendors expected.
- 2024: WAKA reported a three-day run starting August 26, with the theme “Reoptimizing IT & Cyber: Posturing the DAF for Great Power Competition.”
- 2026: August 24-26, with more than 140 breakouts, an exhibit hall with over 200 vendor booths, and over 4,000 attendees, speakers and exhibitors, per the DAFITC site.
In short, the rename added “Department of the” and a leading D to the acronym: AFITC became DAFITC. The core name, Information Technology and Cyberpower, stayed the same. Readers searching for either term are looking for the same Montgomery event.
What happens at the event
The program has three main pieces: keynotes and panels, breakout training sessions, and an exhibit hall.
Keynotes and panels
Speakers come from both the public and private sectors. The 2026 public sector line-up listed on the official speakers page includes Ashley Devoto, Chief Information Officer for the Department of the Air Force; Gen. Adrian L. Spain, commander of Air Combat Command; Lt. Gen. Thomas K. Hensley, commander of Sixteenth Air Force; and Lt. Gen. Paul T. Stanton, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency. Private sector speakers included Alexis Bonnell of OpenAI for Government and Dave DeWalt of NightDragon. In 2023, the announced keynote list included Dr. Wanda T. Jones-Heath, the Department of the Air Force’s principal cyber advisor, and Lt. Gen. Timothy D. Haugh, then deputy commander of U.S. Cyber Command.
Breakout training sessions
Each year the event offers well over 140 unique breakout sessions, and the 2026 program was grouped under four training themes. Sessions are welcomed through a Call for Presentations, and the vast majority are available to all attendees, according to the DAFITC site. The agenda page says past editions have touched on software, vulnerability management, incident management, standards and compliance, monitoring, hardware, systems integration, AI and encryption. The 2023 tracks, per the Air University announcement, included Digital Transformation; Holistic Cybersecurity for the DAF; Investing in Our People, on the air and space cyber workforce; and Space-Focused Communications and ISR.
The exhibit hall
The exhibit hall is where vendors present cyber solutions to federal decision makers and users. The exhibit page pitches exhibiting as an annual opportunity to connect with decision makers and users in the federal cyber security community. Exhibitors contact the show services manager listed on the contact page rather than using attendee registration.
Several of the themes, including zero trust and contractor compliance, connect to topics covered elsewhere on this site, such as zero trust for defense networks and CMMC requirements for defense contractors.
Who attends
The audience is a mix of uniformed and civilian Air Force and Space Force personnel, other government employees, contractors and industry, and academia. The archived 2020 registration page named Department of Defense personnel, military retirees, government contractors, local and state employees, and members of academia as the groups invited to register. Montgomery UP reported that 2026 attendance draws heavily from nearby Maxwell Air Force Base and Gunter Annex, alongside defense bases and technology hubs from elsewhere. It put the 2026 figure at around 5,000 attendees and more than 200 exhibitors, while the event’s own wording is “over 4,000 attendees, speakers, and exhibitors.” Counting methods differ, so treat the figures as approximate.
Careers and workforce are recurring themes. In 2022 the Chamber’s TechMGM and The Lab on Dexter hosted innovateAFITC, a hackathon and cyber challenge for students and Airmen, and co-hosted a Women’s Leadership Luncheon. WAKA reported the luncheon again in 2024.
Why Montgomery
Montgomery UP describes Maxwell Air Force Base and Gunter Annex as nearby sources of attendance. At the 2026 edition, Experience Montgomery’s Chief Destination Officer Ron Simmons said it was the 43rd year of the event being hosted in Montgomery, and that it has only ever been held there. The Chamber’s recap calls out the economic benefit and the city’s own tech talent as part of the draw.
The conference also fills hotels, restaurants and venues downtown, and Montgomery UP reports an official DAFITC Bash at Commerce Music Hall in the Alleyway Entertainment District on the opening Monday of 2026. For the city side of a trip, see where to stay in downtown Montgomery and things to do in Montgomery. History-minded visitors can add the Montgomery civil rights sites.
How to get official information
The only authoritative source for dates, registration, agenda and exhibiting is the event’s own site, dafitc.com. General questions go to [email protected], listed on the contact page, which also covers media and exhibitor contacts. This website is an independent resource. It is not affiliated with the US Air Force, the Department of the Air Force, the event organizers or the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, and it does not take registrations.
For background on the military side of the subject, read what cyberpower means for the US Air Force. For comparable events, see government and military cybersecurity conferences. For a profile of one retired Air Force cyber commander, see the Lt. Gen. Christopher P. Weggeman biography. Registration rules and past costs are in the AFITC and DAFITC registration guide.
Related guides for conference visitors
These guides cover the base, the venue and the wider conference calendar around the event.
- Maxwell Air Force Base history and visitor access: the 1910 Wright flying school, Air University, Gunter Annex and how base access works.
- the Montgomery Convention Center and Renaissance Hotel: the venue DAFITC names on its registration page, its sky bridge and getting there.
- AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference: the Air & Space Forces Association’s annual National Harbor event and how it compares.
- earning CPE credits at cybersecurity conferences: how ISC2, ISACA and CompTIA count conference hours, caps and proof.
- the defense cybersecurity guide: an overview of CMMC, NIST SP 800-171, FedRAMP, Cyber Command, the Sixteenth Air Force, the DoD CIO and cyber careers.
FAQ
What does AFITC stand for?
AFITC stands for Air Force Information Technology and Cyberpower. The current name, DAFITC, stands for Department of the Air Force Information Technology and Cyberpower Training and Education Event.
Where is the conference held?
In downtown Montgomery, Alabama. The 2026 edition took place at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa at the Convention Center, 201 Tallapoosa Street, per the official registration page.
When was the most recent edition?
August 24-26, 2026, per the event site, whose registration page lists registration for that edition as closed.
Is the conference open to the public?
No. The official registration page says it is not open to the general public.
Is this website the official event site?
No. The official site is dafitc.com. This site is independent and does not handle registration.
Photo credits: Carol M. Highsmith (Library of Congress) (Public domain); Tahir Xəlfəquliyev (Pexels) (Pexels License).
