Taft hosted the 2026 Wharton Aerospace Ventures Conference and Innovation Showcase at its Washington, D.C., office. The conference, themed “Forge Forward: Scaling Our Industrial Foundation,” brought together aerospace and defense leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers to discuss strengthening America’s industrial foundation through manufacturing, investment, supply chain resilience, emerging technology, and industrial policy.

The Innovation Showcase on Wednesday, Oct. 14, featured a venture capital panel on the future of defense technology investment, presentations and technology demonstrations from 10 defense technology companies, and a networking dinner.

The conference’s main program followed on Thursday, Oct. 15, with sessions on global production competition, supply chain vulnerabilities, AI infrastructure, and defense industrial base financing. Taft partner Michael Stroud participated in the main program as a panelist on the session, “A Comparative Look at Industrial Policies Enabling Manufacturing — Asia, Europe, America.” The panel examined how the United States and its allies use different combinations of public finance, industrial policy, and investment controls to strengthen domestic capabilities, reduce dependence on China, and gain long-term strategic advantage.

Taft is proud to support the Wharton Aerospace Ventures Conference and its work connecting leaders across the aerospace and defense community. Taft’s Government Contracts, Aerospace and Defense, and Public Affairs Strategies groups advise prime contractors, subcontractors, emerging technology companies, and investors on federal procurement, regulatory compliance, public policy, and government relations.