Sofia to Host the 2026 NATO Modelling and Simulation Group Annual Symposium

The event is open to NATO nations, NATO bodies, Partnership for Peace countries, and partners worldwide, with all sessions conducted at PUBLIC RELEASE level. This makes the symposium a valuable forum for broad professional exchange, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing on how modelling and simulation can support NATO’s adaptation to a rapidly evolving security environment.

At the centre of this year’s symposium is the concept of a Digital Twin of the NATO Mission Space. This concept envisions an integrated, dynamic, and continuously updated virtual representation of the operational environment, spanning physical, virtual, and cognitive dimensions. Such a capability would help commanders, planners and policymakers better understand complex interactions across domains, test assumptions, explore options and improve decision-making with greater speed, fidelity and responsiveness.

The importance of this topic is clear. NATO’s operating environment is becoming increasingly complex, shaped by rapid technological change, hybrid threats and systemic vulnerabilities. In this context, a mission-space digital twin would contribute to stronger situational understanding, enhanced decision advantage and more synchronised multi-domain action. It also aligns with broader NATO efforts to improve agility, interoperability and innovation across both military and non-military instruments of power.

The symposium will invite contributions on the technologies, methods and concepts needed to advance this vision. Relevant topics include live data integration and fusion, AI-driven analytics, multi-domain modelling, real-time simulation, digital engineering, synthetic environments, autonomous and human-machine systems, cloud and edge computing, cyber-physical representation, extended reality, and the use of digital twins for decision support, readiness assessment, experimentation, training and wargaming. Papers may address applications across all operational domains and at the strategic, operational and tactical levels.

For the CMDR COE, the symposium is of particular interest as COL Dr Orlin Nikolov (CMDR COE) serves as Programme Committee Co-Chair, together with Mr Wim Huiskamp of the Netherlands. Their leadership highlights the strong connection between NATO’s modelling and simulation efforts and the Centre’s broader commitment to innovation, education, analysis, and capability development in support of crisis management and disaster response.

Researchers and authors are invited to submit abstracts for consideration. Abstracts must not exceed 200 words, must follow the required structure, and must be submitted with the Details of Authors Form to msg@cso.nato.int no later than 30 April 2026. Authors must also declare that there are no restrictions on presenting or publishing the proposed work as outlined in the abstract.

The current timeline includes notification of acceptance by 5 June 2026, instructions to authors on 12 June 2026, and the opening of online registration on 15 July 2026. Final papers are due on 2 October 2026, and presentation slides are due on 15 October 2026. Papers will be pre-released on 22 October 2026 ahead of the symposium on 29–30 October 2026. The documents also note that selected papers are eligible for publication in the new NATO STO Review Journal, while authors of selected papers are not financially supported by the organisation.

The NATO Modelling and Simulation Group plays an important role within the STO by promoting cooperation among Alliance bodies, member nations, and partner nations to maximise the effective use of modelling and simulation across defence planning, technology development, and capability advancement. In this spirit, the 2026 Annual Symposium promises to be an important venue for advancing ideas that can help NATO better understand, shape, and prevail in an increasingly contested and complex global environment.

Those interested in participating or submitting a paper are encouraged to consult the official STO Cvent event page and contact the Modelling and Simulation Coordination Office at msg@cso.nato.int for administrative guidance and submission details.

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