Energy Security / C-UAS Forum
Co-located With the Energy Drone & Robotics SummiT
June 24, 2026 | 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM | Woodlands Waterway Marriott
Limited Seating
Energy Security / C-UAS Forum Sponsors
What’s Being Discussed
Agenda – June 24, 2026
8:25 am - 8:30 am Welcome
8:30 am - 9:00 am The Sky Is the New Front Line: Airspace Threat Intelligence & Energy Security in 2026
A vital scene-setter drawing on NERC's GridEx VIII findings, the DHS warning to U.S. energy operators, and the geopolitical realities reshaping physical and airspace security strategy for substations, refineries, pipelines, and critical generation assets.
Understanding who is operating near your assets, why, and what NERC GridEx data and DHS warnings reveal about the rising threat of state-sponsored targeting of U.S. energy infrastructure.
9:00 am - 9:30 am Navigating the C-UAS Technology Spectrum: From RF Cyber Takeover to Precision Mitigation
The Modern Playbook for High-Risk Infrastructure- Detect, Deter, Mitigate
In the complex electromagnetic environment of a refinery or chemical plant, there is no "silver bullet." While traditional jamming can create RF noise that disrupts critical industrial sensors and safety systems, newer "surgical" methods aren't always applicable to every drone type.
This session moves beyond the marketing hype to provide a technical, transparent evaluation of the entire C-UAS intervention stack.
Key Learning Objectives:
The Layered Defense Reality: Understanding why a mix of Kinetic, Electronic, and Cyber solutions is required for 100% protection.
RF Cyber Takeover Deep Dive: How "protocol manipulation" seizes control of rogue UAS for safe-zone landings without polluting the local RF spectrum.
Mitigation Trade-Offs: A candid look at the pros and cons of current technologies in industrial settings.
9:30 am - 10:00 am Energy Security/C-UAS Tech Talks
10:00 am- 10:40 am From Fence Line to Skyline: What Utilities and Energy Operators Are Actually Doing Right Now
Asset owners from electric utilities, pipelines, and oil & gas share candid accounts of their current airspace security posture — detection capabilities deployed, gaps identified, incidents experienced, and how they are coordinating with local law enforcement under the new SAFERSKIES Act framework.
10:40 am - 11:00 am Robots on the Ground: How Autonomous Security Platforms Are Patrolling the Perimeter & Physical Security Integration
As aerial threats multiply, the perimeter itself is being rethought. This session examines the emerging role of ground-based autonomous robots in energy facility security — from continuous perimeter patrol and anomaly detection to real-time situational awareness and coordinated response.
Integrating airspace monitoring with existing ground based perimeter security, surveillance systems, and emergency response protocols to create a unified, defense-in-depth security posture across the full facility footprint.
Hear how operators are deploying wheeled and tracked UGVs to cover large, complex facility footprints that traditional guard forces and fixed cameras cannot adequately monitor, and how ground robots are being integrated with airspace surveillance systems to create a unified threat picture.
11:00 am - 12:00 pm Refreshment Break & Technology Exhibition Access- Tech Tour
Tech Tour to connect with C-UAS solution providers, ground robotics vendors, security technology integrators, and fellow operators from across the energy sector on the EDR Summit exhibition floor.
12:00 pm - 12:30 pm NERC CIP-014, SAFERSKIES, FY 2026 NDAA Framework and Public-Private Partnerships: The Regulatory Compliance Landscape for Airspace Security
C-UAS is moving rapidly from an optional investment to a mandatory compliance requirement.
This session breaks down the current regulatory framework — including the FY2026 NDAA's expanded C-UAS authorities for state and local agencies under SAFERSKIES — and what asset owners need to put in place before formal mandates arrive.
How energy operators are building coordination frameworks with SLTT law enforcement agencies under new federal authority to create legally defensible, rapid-response airspace protection programs.
Key distinctions between detection and mitigation, and the limits of private‑sector response.
Federal roles, boundaries, and certification pathways under the SAFER SKIES framework.
Don't wait for the regulations to tell you what to do.
12:30 pm - 1:15 pm Building Layered Airspace Defense: Detection, Identification, and Mitigation in Practice
A practitioner-led panel on deploying the full three-layer C-UAS stack — RF sensor and AI-camera detection, friend-or-foe identification, and non-disruptive cyber-based mitigation — within real-world operational constraints at energy facilities.
How to evaluate C-UAS vendors, structure public-private agreements, and deploy layered detection and mitigation systems within the budget and operational realities of energy facility security teams.
Open audience Q&A closes the session.
1:15 PM Forum Concludes
Who Should Attend?
This forum is purpose-built for the security decision-makers, operations leaders, and technology evaluators responsible for protecting energy infrastructure — and who need actionable intelligence, peer experience, and regulatory clarity, not theory.
From DroneFly
Physical Security Director or Manager at a utility, pipeline, or O&G company
Chief Security Officer or VP of Security for an energy asset owner/operator
Operations or Facility Manager responsible for site safety and access control
UAV/Aviation Program Lead or Robotics/Technology implementation team
Compliance Officer managing NERC CIP or physical security standards
Emergency Response or Crisis Management Leader
Government Relations professional tracking C-UAS and infrastructure policy
Technology Evaluator or Procurement Lead for physical security systems
Law Enforcement or Homeland Security official with energy sector responsibilities
Why Attend?
Peer Intelligence — Hear directly from asset owners and operators who are actively deploying — or evaluating — C-UAS systems at real facilities, not consultants theorizing from the sidelines.
Regulatory Clarity — Leave with a clear-eyed picture of the NERC CIP, SAFERSKIES, and FY2026 NDAA landscape — and a concrete sense of what compliance will require before the mandates arrive.
Technology Evaluation — Cut through vendor noise with expert-led sessions on what detection and mitigation technologies actually work in industrial environments — and which approaches create new risks.
Actionable Frameworks — Walk away with a layered-defense framework and a clear roadmap for building public-private coordination agreements with law enforcement under the new federal authorities.
Full EDR Summit Access — Forum registration includes full access to the Energy Drone & Robotics Summit — the industry's premier event for drone and robotics technology across the energy sector.
Senior-Level Networking — Connect with the security leaders, technology providers, regulators, and law enforcement officials who are collectively shaping the future of energy infrastructure protection.
The sky above your facility is now part of your critical infrastructure security perimeter.
State-sponsored actors, extremist groups, and opportunistic adversaries have identified energy infrastructure as a high-value, under-defended target.
This timely half-day forum convenes the security leaders, owner-operators, regulators, service solution providers, public safety agencies and technology innovators who are writing the new playbook, before the next incident forces your hand.
** The Energy Security / C-UAS Forum registration is included with an EDR Summit All-Access Conference Pass
Why This Conversation Can’t Wait
The energy facilities and electric grid was never designed with aerial threats in mind. Drones are inexpensive, widely available, and increasingly capable — which means your security perimeter no longer ends at the fence line.
Modern UAS threats are analogous to cyber threats: low-cost, scalable, and capable of creating disproportionate damage far beyond the point of attack. The time to act is before the breach, not after.
Reconnaissance & Site Mapping
Most drone incidents near critical infrastructure currently involve surveillance like mapping facility layouts, identifying weak points in physical security, and testing response times.
This intelligence feeds far more coordinated follow-on attacks, both physical and cyber.
State-Sponsored Targeting
DHS has explicitly warned U.S. energy companies about nation-state threats. Global conflicts have demonstrated that refineries and generating stations are valid military targets, a strategic calculus now being applied to the U.S. homeland by adversaries including Iran.
The Regulatory & Legal Gap
FAA airspace rules leave utilities able to observe threatening drones but unable to legally interdict them in flight.
Operators are stuck watching a potential attack unfold and can only respond after the drone lands, often too late to prevent harm to personnel or critical equipment.
C-UAS Is Becoming Mandatory. Don't Wait for the Breach.
Asset owners who wait for regulations to arrive before building airspace security capability will be left scrambling. The FY2026 NDAA has already created new frameworks. NERC CIP-014 updates are accelerating. DHS is actively warning operators. The question is no longer whether to act — it's whether you act on your terms, or the regulator's.
SAFERSKIES Act (FY2026 NDAA) — New authority for state and local law enforcement to detect, track, and mitigate credible drone threats near designated critical infrastructure sites.
NERC CIP-014 Evolution — Growing industry push to update physical security standards to explicitly include airspace defense as a required protective measure for high-impact facilities.
Active DHS Warnings — The Department of Homeland Security has directly urged U.S. energy companies to increase security in response to confirmed threats from nation-state actors.
NERC GridEx VIII Findings — Industry stress-test participants called for consolidated federal guidance and new government support, confirming the current regulatory framework is insufficient.
Interested in Exhibiting or Sponsoring at the 2026 Energy Security / C-UAS Forum? Want More Information on Opportunities?
Download your complimentary copy of the Exhibiting/Sponsoring Prospectus today! Just enter your details on the brief form below, and you’ll be able to access the PDF as soon as you submit.
*If you are not able to utilize Hubspot Forms, please email Sean Guerre, Executive Director at seang@innovateenergynow.com.