US ambassador Kevin Rudd, NSW Premier Chris Minns and Australian Defence Force heavyweights will speak at the Hunter Defence Conference starting on Wednesday.
The two-day conference in the Hunter vineyards will attract hundreds of contractor representatives to hear from industry and ADF leaders on artificial intelligence, the AUKUS strategic partnership and a range of other topics.
Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery Pat Conroy will deliver the keynote address at the main conference dinner on Thursday night.
Mr Rudd, a former prime minister, will appear via video link from the US to discuss the AUKUS program with former defence minister and Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon.
Hunter Defence Taskforce chair Tim Owen will moderate a discussion on ADF capabilities with Department of Defence joint information capabilities assistant secretary Nelson Bates; the Navy's director general of major surface ships, Commodore Brad Smith; aerospace systems division head Air Vice-Marshal Graham Edwards; and the Army's general platforms director, Brigadier Colin Bassett.
Parts of the conference will be dedicated to the Australian government's new National Defence Strategy and investment program, including a panel discussion between the Australian leaders of prime defence contractors BAE, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Hanwha and Kongsberg.
Defence think tank analyst Michael Shoebridge, a former intelligence agency deputy, will offer an "external perspective" on the NDS.
The growing Hunter defence sector, centred on Williamtown RAAF base, is worth an estimated $1.5 billion or more annually and employs about 2500 people.
Newcastle Airport chief executive Peter Cock will address the conference to outline the airport's Astra Aerolab industrial precinct.
The Newcastle Herald reported in February that the airport had lodged a development application for a $32 million workshop at Astra Aerolab for a "high-technology" aerospace contractor with almost 200 employees.
The airport won planning approval in August for two multi-tenanted buildings designed for small to medium enterprises, start-ups and education and training facilities.
