Vilnius hosted Operational Dialogue Conference 2026, an international military cooperation event that pulled together military representatives, academics and defence experts of NATO Allies to discuss the most pressing challenges on the regional security landscape. Themed “Existing and Developing Threats to National Security and their Impact on the Operational Level”, the event was focused the shifting security environment, NATO transformation and Allied readiness to respond to current and future threats.
“Modern threats call for a persistent Allied dialoged, joint planning and mutual trust, aside from strong national capabilities. Only when we act together, share information and coordinate between ourselves can we make sure that NATO remains ready to respond quickly and effectively to whatever security challenge arises,” said Rear Admiral Giedrius Premeneckas.
In the first part of the Conference, Dr. Giedrius Česnakas delivered the opening address themed “NATO Transformation and Future Role”. The following discussion addressed the effect of the increasing defence spending across Europe, acquisitions and acquisition priorities, and accelerating capability development on NATO transformation, operational planning and the role of the Alliance in effective deterrence and collective defence.
The second panel was opened by Dr. Deividas Šlekys with a review of the changing threat assessment in Europe. His address offered analysis of the impact of the war in Ukraine on the European security, the situation in the Middle East, and the most common security incidents recorded in Europe. D-escalation in the Baltic Sea, the need to strengthen the Allied coordination and interoperability, as well as their readiness and ability to respond to the changing security situation was addressed as a separate important point of discussion.
In the second part of the event, foreign delegations were familiarized with Lithuania’s military infrastructure developments projects. They visited the Pabradė and the Rūdninkai Training Areas to see firsthand the infrastructure development work aimed at strengthening Lithuania’s Host Nation Support capabilities, Allied presence, better overall combat readiness and stronger Lithuania’s and NATO defensive capabilities.
The Conference was attended by Northern American, North and Eastern European and NATO structural operational level commanders and chiefs of staff. The annual event serves as a platform for insight exchange in the context of the shifting security landscape, as well as discussion on the shared operational challenges and overall strengthening of the Allied interoperability.
