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U.S. Africa Command

U.S. Navy RDML Cameron Chen, deputy director of Operations at U.S. Africa Command speaks during a panel discussion of the 2025 Emerging Technologies for Defense Conference, in Washington, D.C. August 28, 2025. (courtesy photo, National Defense Industrial Association)

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Photo by: Isaac Latimer isaac@latimerart.d 

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) is launching an innovation initiative to accelerate the development and deployment of cutting-edge technologies that address the evolving security challenges on the African continent. 

This effort builds upon AFRICOM's ongoing commitment to collaboration with industry partners and government officials, demonstrated by recent participation at the NDIA Emerging Technologies Institute Conference in Washington, D.C., Aug. 27-29.

“The conference was a great opportunity to share our innovation strategy in Africa and highlight the challenges we see in this data-centric global environment,” said Col. Guadalupe Resendez, director of Enterprise Operations Division at U.S. Africa Command. “We collected invaluable insights into emerging technologies and built crucial connections with industry leaders. These connections will be vital for collaborative problem-solving, efficient technology transfer, and ultimately, maintaining a decisive advantage in addressing our security challenges in Africa.”

The AFRICOM Innovation Initiative transforms the command's approach to problem-solving by opening more robust opportunities to industry and co-locating developers and warfighters. The initiative seeks to foster a culture where everyone, from leadership to staff, can contribute ideas and challenge conventional thinking to solve warfighter problems.

AFRICOM’s engagement at the conference in return equipped industry with context and connections that inform the command’s new initiative. During the conference, AFRICOM personnel engaged with industry and government experts on topics ranging from defense economic strategies to acceleration of joint warfighter capabilities as the edge. 

Capitalizing on its success throughout the conference, AFRICOM’s upcoming innovation initiative continues this effort. It aims to bring transformative technologies to the forefront of AFRICOM's innovation strategic approach and associated partnerships.