To strengthen small manufacturing
for the defense industry

What is DIBCON?

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Defense Industrial Base Conference (DIBCON) is the only conference designed to bring together all key stakeholders involved in the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) in a truly collaborative environment with a singular goal: To get more small manufacturers directly engaged in the US defense industry.

The number of small manufacturers in the U.S. defense industrial base is shrinking. Thousands of businesses – more than 40% of the total – have left the space over the past decade. In order to keep our nation’s armed forces moving, we must create new bridges between the Department of Defense and the nation’s manufacturing base.

The Defense Industrial Base Conference (DIBCON) was created to address this need. While other defense industry conferences and manufacturing expos exist, there is no single national event that brings together small manufacturers, economic development organizations, defense industry leaders, and DoD. Until now.

Only direct engagement will get new manufacturers to raise their hand and say they want to help. We need to empower these small businesses to compete to aid our nation’s defensive surge capacity. The purpose of DIBCON is to create that opportunity.

DIBCON '25

Join us at the Defense Industrial Base Conference (DIBCON) for the Knudsen Institute’s premier annual event June 3-5, 2025 at the Oklahoma Convention Center.  

Sign up now to sponsor, exhibit, or speak at DIBCON 25.  Reach out to our conference coordinator for more information (contact information at the DIBCON site). 

Thank you for everyone who joined us in Oklahoma Convention Center May 7-9th at the inaugural Defense Industrial Base Conference (DIBCON).   Thank you to our sponsors, speakers, panelists, and guests who helped make DIBCON a success.