Strategic Industries at the Crossroads: Defense, Aerospace, and Maritime Enter 2026

For much of the past decade, defense, aerospace, and maritime manufacturing were discussed as strategic priorities more often than they were treated as operational ones. In 2025, that changed.

Federal funding accelerated. Reshoring efforts gained urgency. Supply-chain security moved from talking point to mandate. Across the country, communities competed to position themselves as platforms for the next generation of defense production, aerospace components, and maritime infrastructure.

Yet as Area Development’s coverage made clear throughout the year, 2025 exposed a critical distinction: supporting a sector is not the same as being ready to build it .

Click here to read the original article from Area Development.