Department of War's Michael Cadenazzi to Deliver Keynote at ARDIS 2026 in Ridgecrest

RIDGECREST, Calif. - The Advancing Rapid Defense Innovation Symposium (ARDIS) announced that the Honorable Michael Cadenazzi, Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy, will deliver the keynote address at ARDIS 2026, the two-day national security forum scheduled for Sept. 15-16 at the Kerr McGee Community Center in Ridgecrest.

Cadenazzi's appearance comes as military leaders, manufacturers, technology companies and investors face mounting pressure to move promising capabilities from the laboratory to the production line, and into the hands of warfighters faster than traditional acquisition timelines have allowed. His keynote is expected to center on a clear proposition: Industrial readiness is deterrence, and the nation must build the capacity to equip, sustain and surge before a crisis begins.

Under the keynote address "Rebuilding America's Defense Industrial Base for Deterrence, Readiness, and Warfighter Advantage," Assistant Secretary Cadenazzi will focus on four connected priorities: aligning resources with urgent operational needs, improving productivity across the defense ecosystem, expanding domestic production, and strengthening the skilled worklorce required to sustain American military advantage.

The keynote also is expected to examine the Department's shift toward a wartime acquisition mindset, including targeted investment in critical industrial capabilities, expanded use of Defense Production Act and Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment authorities, workforce development through Build Freedom US, and efforts to secure strategic materials and vulnerable supply chains. The message will be aimed at large prime contractors and small suppliers alike: speed, resilence and execution are now national defense requirements.

California is more than the host state for the symposium. Its miltary installations, test ranges, aerospace and space companies, software firms, advanced manufacturers, universities, venture capital and skilled technical workforce form one of the nation's most consequential defense ecosystems. State officials report that California ranks third in total Department of Defense spending, while the state's aerospace and defense sector contributes an estimated $35 billion in annual gross domestic product output.

That concentration of public and private capability makes California essential to the nation's ability to design. test, produce and sustain next-generation systems. From China Lake and Point Mugu to the state's commercial technology corridors and manufacturing networks, Califomia remains a place where national security requirements can be translated into engineering, investment and operational results.