The Protocase Companies have announced the inaugural Velocity Summit, a national working session focused on accelerating U.S. defense manufacturing. Scheduled for November 17, 2026, in Wilmington, North Carolina, the summit will bring together leaders from defense, government, advanced manufacturing, and emerging technology to address the critical gap between current production timelines and the demands of modern conflict.
According to the announcement, the U.S. defense industrial base is optimized for predictability, yet modern conflict requires adaptability and speed. Examples cited include the Constellation-class frigate program, which has absorbed billions in costs with no operational ships delivered, and advanced fighter and weapons platforms that routinely take over a decade to field. Munitions stockpiles remain constrained, and efforts to surge production expose brittle supply chains.
"The United States doesn’t have a talent problem or a funding problem. It has a systems problem," said Dr. Doug Milburn, Chairman of The Protocase Companies. "We are asking industrial models built for certainty to operate in conditions defined by change. That gap is where time is lost."
The Velocity Summit is designed as a working session rather than a traditional conference, aiming to develop a shared understanding of the problem and explore the formation of a sustained, cross-sector working group. Participants will include stakeholders from the U.S. Department of Defense, prime contractors, emerging defense innovators, advanced manufacturing leaders, academic institutions, and policy experts. Key discussion areas include how manufacturing systems can absorb variation, how acquisition models can surface risk earlier, and how organizations can increase their capacity to learn and adapt in real time.
The Protocase Companies bring a track record of convening cross-sector dialogues. As a founding contributor to the Canadian Space Launch Conference, Protocase helped align stakeholders around sovereign launch capability. The company has also been active within Canada’s defense industrial base, engaging with senior leaders on procurement modernization and supply chain resilience through organizations like the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries and at CANSEC.
Insights from the summit will inform ongoing dialogue among participants, with the goal of determining whether a more formalized working group should take shape. For more information, visit the event landing page at https://www.protocase.com/events/velocity-summit/.
The Velocity Summit represents a critical step toward aligning stakeholders around the conditions required to accelerate U.S. defense production. By focusing on structural constraints rather than predefined solutions, the event aims to create durable collaboration that can adapt to evolving threats and technological changes.
