ASPI USA was proud to take part in the 2025 Defense Industrial Base Conference (DIBCon), where allied industry stakeholders and policymakers gathered to chart the future of defense innovation and industrial preparedness.

Dr. Nishank Motwani, ASPI USA Senior Fellow and Director of Alliance Strategy, contributed to a powerful panel discussion, "AUKUS & the Indo-Pacific Theater: The Driving Force for Surge Preparedness," highlighting strategies for building resilient, integrated industrial capacity across the AUKUS partnership.

ASPI USA Executive Director, Adam Leslie, closed the conference with a keynote address that underscored the critical role of industrial strength in strategic competition:

“Our defense industrial base must no longer be viewed as a support function. It is a front line in a new form of strategic competition—one where deterrence begins not on the battlefield, but in the boardroom, the lab, and the production line.”

Special thanks to Allyson Carson of the Oklahoma Defense Industry Association (ODIA) and Michael Morford of the Knudsen Institute for their leadership and partnership in helping ASPI USA grow its strategic footprint in Oklahoma and deepen engagement with the state’s defense ecosystem.

DIBCon also marked the launch of the Oklahoma Chair for Strategic Policy and International Engagement, a new partnership between the Knudsen Institute and ASPI USA, bridging Oklahoma’s industrial base and the allied policy ecosystem that shapes AUKUS cooperation and Indo-Pacific strategy. This fellowship helps ensure the state’s industrial and academic expertise informs the future of allied deterrence and dual-use technological cooperation.