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Executive Committee Member Spotlight: Mike George, COO at Eoptic, Inc. Based in Rochester, NY, Mike is one of the NAC’s newest Executive Committee Members. Mike brings more than 20 years of defense industry experience to his role on the Executive Committee. Mike presently serves as Chief Operating Officer for Eoptic, a transformative electro-optical imaging systems company, with responsibility to develop and implement strategy, growth and organizational scale across defense, space and commercial sectors. He also served as a US Army Civilian Engineer, and previously as the Army Transformation and Training Command (T2COM) DEVCOM Armaments Center’s Senior Scientific Technical Manager (SSTM) for Armaments Science and Technology research portfolio. Mike managed the organization’s $1B+ multi-year defense budget, shaped strategic plans aligned with the National Defense Strategy, and brokered government-industry partnerships to advance cutting-edge armaments technologies, including weapons, munitions, and enabling technologies across calibers, platforms and missions. At the NAC, we are building a community of armaments innovators across industry, academia, and government. Mike’s extensive experience driving private-public partnerships, technology development, and corporate strategy is invaluable as we work to deliver cutting-edge technologies for our warfighters.

With the end of the year quickly approaching, we reflect on the momentum building within our organization—and across the broader defense industrial base—and chart a path forward to meet the speed of need for our warfighters, and strengthen the next generation of the acquisition workforce. Stay connected by reading this month’s newsletter, where you’ll find the latest NAC announcements, upcoming collaboration opportunities, and important industry updates.

Heading into 2026, we’re laser-focused on meeting the speed of need for our warfighters. NAC Executive Director Ben Harris and Executive Committee Chair Joe Buzzett recently joined Federal News Network’s The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton to discuss everything from the defense industrial base’s supply chain resilience to workforce development and ongoing acquisition reform. Listen to the full episode below to learn how we’re helping small and nontraditional defense contractors grow the industrial base and deliver strategic advantages on the battlefield. https://lnkd.in/e4JXruWm

We are excited to announce that Don Palathinkal has joined The National Armaments Consortium (NAC) as Director of Customer Affairs. Don will lead NAC’s collaboration with government partners, oversee business operations, and implement process improvements that accelerate the delivery of advanced capabilities to America’s warfighters. Don brings over two decades of experience in defense acquisition, program management, and armaments technology development, with a proven track record of fostering collaboration across government, industry, and academia. His impressive background includes founding BridgeHill Corporation and holding key leadership positions within the Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments & Ammunition, the Development Command Armaments Center, and the Department of Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium office. Don’s commitment to innovation and collaboration makes him a tremendous asset to the NAC team. Please join us in welcoming Don to this critical role as we continue to drive innovation to deliver advanced capabilities to America’s warfighters. Continue reading: https://lnkd.in/e3NzeKgw

Another busy month in the books. We enjoyed catching up with all of our friends, colleagues, and members over the past few weeks at AUSA in Washington, DC, and the EMTWG meeting in Boston, MA. Be sure to hit the “Subscribe” button to stay up-to-date on NAC's announcements, events, and defense industry updates.

Researchers at the U.S. Army DEVCOM Armaments Center are advancing a new suite of modular technologies designed to make Army drones more adaptable, affordable, and easier to manufacture. The Picatinny Common Lethality Integration Kit (CLIK) uses a Modular Open Systems Architecture (MOSA) to enable plug-and-play payloads for Group 1-3 unmanned aircraft. By pairing the HEX Electronic Safe and Arm Device (HEX-ESAD) with the Picatinny Lethal Unmanned Systems (PLUS) family of scalable warheads, warfighters will be able to rapidly tailor drone effects to the mission by swapping modules instead of entire platforms. The National Armaments Consortium is proud to partner with the DEVCOM Armaments Center through our ongoing Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to help ensure these capabilities are reliable, affordable, manufacturable, and positioned for successful transition to production and fielding. Innovation alone isn't enough. Winning tomorrow's fight requires technology that can move from the laboratory to the field quickly, scale through industry, and evolve as threats change. Open architectures, modular designs, and strong collaboration between government, industry, and academia are making that possible. Read more about the DEVCOM Armaments Center's efforts and the future of modular drone lethality: https://lnkd.in/gj3S9uYP