AIAA Statement on FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act Written 1 January 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AIAA Executive Director Applauds Commitment to Department of Defense

January 1, 2021 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) applauds the passage of the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act. Among other things, the $732 billion policy bill creates a Senate-confirmed director for cybersecurity, accelerates the acquisition of space systems, prioritizes missile defense, and strengthens science and technology efforts.

AIAA Executive Director Dan Dumbacher made the following statement after the president signed the authorization bill into law:

“For the 60th consecutive year Congress worked in a bipartisan fashion to address the needs of our warfighters and our national defense industrial base. Both Congress and the administration have made it a priority to focus on national security space and modernize our defenses and maintain our preeminence over our adversaries. Such efforts come at a critical moment for our nation as the coronavirus pandemic is weakening the resilient aerospace and defense (A&D) industry. Enormous revenue losses, challenges to our military capabilities, and the interruption of essential supply chains composed of small and mid-sized companies are creating a dire situation that cannot easily be reversed. The A&D industry is critical to our economic and national security, and it will be an essential part of our nation’s rapid recovery from the pandemic.

While this essential policy bill is helpful and necessary, we continue to call on policymakers to support the people and the companies of the A&D industry by passing fiscal year 2021 appropriations and additional relief measures. AIAA, through our events, technical resources and membership, remains committed to working with defense leadership to ensure the advancement of aerospace.”

Media contact: Rebecca B. Gray, RebeccaG@aiaa.org, 804.397.5270

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.