At the Air & Space Forces Association’s 2026 conference in National Harbor, Maryland, National Security Editor Guy Taylor spoke with J.P. Nauseef, President and CEO of JobsOhio, the state’s private economic development corporation, to explore why Ohio has become a magnet for major defense and aerospace manufacturers such as Northrop Grumman, RTX Corporation, Boeing and such newer entrants to the U.S. defense industrial landscape as Anduril.
[TAYLOR] Why is JobsOhio here at AFA?
[NAUSEEF] We’re the state of Ohio’s private economic development corporation. We’re a unique entity. Most states, all states have an economic development function, typically part of government. Ours is private. We have an independent and unique source of funding through the control state liquor enterprise. And we go into the marketplace through partnerships.
[TAYLOR] So going into the marketplace means attracting companies like Anduril, Northrop Grumman to have major manufacturing in cities that are making rockets, that are making spaceships. Is that really your account?
[NAUSEEF] Our purpose is to work alongside the state government to create economic value and opportunity in Ohio. And we’re here because we have a significant military and federal presence in Ohio, and particularly the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. And we’re here and we do things like this because this is the customer. These are the people that serve. And the first element of economic development is, know the customer. Genuinely, authentically, get to know the customer and what they need. And then we go about the business of serving their needs. And then over time, that creates economic value for the businesses that do business with the Air Force and with the people that serve and work and support the Air Force.
[TAYLOR] One of the things we’ve uncovered and we try to focus on in our journalism at Threat Status at The Washington Times are these important high-tech manufacturing centers. We’ve identified, for example, Huntsville, Alabama as an epicenter of engineers and design of rockets. We’re focusing increasingly on Ohio. Why is Ohio relevant? Is it the workforce? Does it have something to do with carryover from the history of the auto industry? Why is it such a fertile bed for manufacturing of space and aerospace technology?
[NAUSEEF] I would say it’s not any one thing, but clearly we have the heritage and the legacy. The Wright brothers, you know, the people that invented powered flight are there. But the area where they learned to fly and learned to maneuver the plane and created all the advancements grew up right there on Huffman Prairie. Now the Air Force Research Lab, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the Lifecycle Management Center, all those developments and advancements that support national security and our Air Force and air power deterrence center there at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and now the combination of that heritage and that human capital that’s there, combined with the manufacturing powerhouse, great quality of life, affordable quality of life for the workforce. And then, you know, Ohioans value that service, they value those that serve. And so the culture is great for the service members and for the business contractors that support them. And so we give them the one place that they can do all those things with proximity, and then that gives you speed, that provides everyone with speed.
[TAYLOR] We’re in this moment where the last three to five years have been historic in a defense tech boom, a huge growing manufacturing base. There’s a lot of concern right now about, is the money going to be there? We’re looking at a potentially historically high defense Pentagon budget in 2027. There’s a lot of debate about whether the industry is going to shrink. Can the United States sustain this? As you look forward, are you confident that the money is going to be there? And what can you tell us about how you see that?
[NAUSEEF] Well, those are broad policy debates that our elected representatives — we trust that they’ll do that math and calculus. But we work with each company and try to establish a stable, and hope for stable demand signal over time. That’s what business looks for. In the meantime, Ohio is making investments with confidence, and we make sure there are guardrails with the companies that we invest in, so we can match the incentive with those stable budgets that come in. But we offer those companies speed because they’re right next to their project and program managers with the Air Force, and the contractor right next to them with some of the best manufacturing capability in the country, and a real passion for the mission that all of us serve — national security mission — it’s important to all of us.
[TAYLOR] You seem pretty confident that the future is bright.
[NAUSEEF] We have to be confident and optimistic. The other path takes us to a dark place. So, yeah, we’re confident and optimistic that we have got a great system in this country. It’s a resilient system. And we’re doing our part in Ohio to make sure that the people responsible for our national security can get those weapons systems up and running quickly, from decision to fielding those weapons systems.
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