Smart Manufacturing for Aerospace & Defense summit to discuss best practice strategies for advanced technologies

It has been announced that the second annual Smart Manufacturing for Aerospace & Defense summit will take place on October 28, 2025, in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

The aerospace and defense industry faces soaring demand and stringent quality standards, leading to capacity constraints from limited factory space, supply chain issues, and workforce shortages, explains the event organiser. Adopting Industry 4.0 technologies like IIoT, AI, digital twins, robotics, and additive manufacturing is crucial for optimising production processes, enhancing quality control, and improving supply chain resilience.
However, complex certification processes, skill gaps, and fragmented digital infrastructures and data silos hinder the widespread adoption of these disruptive technologies across the aerospace product lifecycle, slowing scalable digital transformation initiatives.
To help operators overcome these challenges, industry experts will present the best practices for elevating the aerospace and defence industries’ manufacturing and supply with smart technology, workforce innovation and Industry 4.0.

Confirmed speakers include:
- Leon Hill – Principal Additive Manufacturing Engineer, GKN Aerospace
- David Ivankovich – Staff Engineer, Advanced Manufacturing Technologies R&D, Northrop Grumman
- Crystal Taton – Technical Fellow and Smart Factory Architect, Raytheon
- Kevin Maring, Fellow – Advanced Manufacturing Technologies and Operations Transformation, Lockheed Martin
- Tony Papke – Senior Director Business Development, MxD
- Travis Prior – Senior Manager, Enterprise Ops Smart Factory, Collins Aerospace
- Warren B Smith – Sr Principal Systems Engineer and Digital Twin Principal Investigator, General Dynamics Mission Systems
Find out more and register using our 15% discount code (PARTNER15) here.
www.smartmanufacturingaerospace.com



























