The Theresan Military Academy of the Austrian Armed Forces and The Defence Horizon Journal seek submissions for the Theresan Military Academic Forum (TMAF) 2026. The theme of TMAF 2026 is “Training 2.0: Embracing Emerging Tech for Tomorrow’s Officers”.
The TMAF 2026 will take place from May 5 to May 7, 2026.
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As military training and education evolve to meet the demands of the 21st century, scientifically grounded knowledge remains crucial to enhancing operational readiness. The accelerating pace of digitalisation, automation, and autonomous systems is reshaping the military environment. Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are not only transforming how wars are fought, but also raising complex questions for military strategists, ethical frameworks, and legal norms.
TMAF invites you to provide your contribution to exploring how emerging technologies are—and will—redefining officer training and development. How can we best prepare future leaders for a tech-driven operational environment? Are current approaches adapting quickly enough—or are we at risk of falling behind more aggressive adopters of these innovations?
This call for papers seeks submissions that examine the strategic, operational, and tactical implications of emerging and disruptive technologies within military education and training contexts, and related domains. The goal is to explore both the opportunities and challenges these technologies present—ranging from new capabilities to unforeseen risks—as we prepare the next generation of officers for an increasingly complex and tech-driven security landscape.
Authors are encouraged to consider questions such as:
- How are emerging and disruptive technologies reshaping the nature of war, warfare, and military science?
- What are the political/leadership pitfalls of emerging tech in officers’ education?
- In what ways do recent technological innovations challenge established doctrines and traditional military mindsets?
- What are the implications for how we educate and train military personnel in this new era?
Whilst the questions above serve as food for thought, authors are encouraged and welcome to offer original ideas and perspectives, either in English or German, and to engage with subject-related questions they find interesting or topical.
As busy policy professionals read The Defence Horizon Journal, all submissions should follow our guidelines for submission (https://tdhj.org/submissions/; long essay).
All submissions should contain endnotes following the Chicago Manual of Style. All submissions will be peer-reviewed before publication to ensure the quality of content.
All presenters will be promoted on social media during the event, so please include in your submission the social media handles for you and your institution (particularly for X and LinkedIn).
To submit a paper, please forward your completed manuscript to [email protected] and [email protected]. The closing date for submissions is 13.02.2026.
Submissions:
- A) Email your abstract of up to 250 words to [email protected] by 23:59 (CET) 30.11.2025.
- B) The final draft of the manuscript must be submitted to [email protected] by 23:59 (CET) 13.02.2026.
The Theresan Military Academy and The Defence Horizon Journal thank you for your interest in our forum/ journal and wish you well in your submission.