The Main Planning Conference of Locked Shields 2026 concluded successfully in Tallinn on 29 January. As one of the key milestone events in the planning of the exercise, it brought together over 100 representatives from 38 countries to help shape the next iteration of the world’s largest and most complex live-fire cyber defence exercise.
The exercise, scheduled for April, is expected to involve approximately 4,000 participants from 40 nations, who will work to defend national systems and critical infrastructure during a high-pressure, live-fire cyber conflict that reflects today’s evolving threat landscape.
The Main Planning Conference convened the international exercise planning group to coordinate concepts, review timelines, and update scenarios ahead of the execution phase.
“Behind a cyber defence exercise of this scale are hundreds of experts. Over the last two days, our international planning group worked tirelessly to synchronize our efforts, providing us with a clear and actionable path forward as we head toward the main execution phase,” said Locked Shields 2026 Exercise Director Dan Ungureanu.
To further prepare participating multinational teams for the execution of the exercise, the Blue Team Leadership Conference was held on 23 January in Riga, Latvia, bringing together national coordinators and team leads.
“The Blue Teams—our training audience in the exercise—often face similar challenges when preparing for execution, such as integration and cooperation within multinational teams. This was a unique opportunity for Blue Team leaders to share best practices and brainstorm ways to overcome these barriers, as well as to innovate and experiment with both processes and technologies,” said Ungureanu.
“Preparing for an exercise of this scale means navigating the challenges of multinational cooperation. We wanted to give Blue Team Leads a dedicated platform to exchange insights and find ways to bridge those gaps. Beyond just solving problems, it’s about creating a culture of innovation where teams feel empowered to experiment with the technologies and processes that will define the future of cyber defense,” said Ungureanu.
The organisers extend their sincere thanks to the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia for its support in hosting the event.