San Diego leads in autonomous defense tech. EDC Roadmap shows how to scale it.
Backed by new San Diego Defense Council, Defense Innovation Roadmap outlines strategies to move technologies from pilot to production
Today, San Diego Regional EDC released “The Right to Win: San Diego’s Defense Innovation Roadmap,” a diagnostic of the region’s defense economy paired with a Defense Innovation Roadmap to better connect San Diego’s military, research, and industry assets and move more technologies from pilot to production. Developed with New Localism Associates and underwritten by Booz Allen Hamilton, these data-backed tools arrive as Washington pushes the defense industrial base to move faster, produce more, and bring in commercial innovation.
San Diego starts from a position of strength. The region receives an average of $11.6 billion a year in Department of War (DoW) contracts and grants and is home to more than 6,700 defense-related assets—from military installations to primes, startups, and research institutions. The defense ecosystem generated an estimated $61.3 billion in economic impact in FY2025, or 22.2% of regional GRP, according to the San Diego Military Advisory Council (SDMAC). But the EDC report finds that having these assets is not the same as having a connected innovation ecosystem.
“No region has a stronger right to win in defense innovation than San Diego. We lead the nation in autonomy and sit at the convergence of emerging technology and the military’s most important legacy capabilities. Yet places with far less are moving with more coordination and urgency. This Roadmap gives us the plan to change that. We will always be a proud home to the Navy, and the new San Diego Defense Council—a partnership driven by EDC and SDMAC—will ensure that we are building what it needs next,” said Nikia Clarke, Chief Strategy Officer at San Diego Regional EDC.
The report draws on analysis of DoW contract spending, a survey of more than 750 firms, executive interviews, and an advisory committee of industry and ecosystem leaders.
Key findings
- San Diego has one of the nation’s most significant concentrations of defense assets and capabilities.
The region has more than 6,700 total defense-related assets, including military installations, prime contractors, sub-prime contractors, and research institutions. This concentration of military demand, research, talent, and industry provides a strong foundation for continued defense growth. - San Diego is a national leader in critical defense technologies, with a competitive advantage across multiple domains.
San Diego ranks #1 nationally in DoW contract obligations for autonomous and unmanned systems, with additional top 10 rankings in maritime and shipbuilding, engineering and technical services, and aircraft and aviation. This breadth of expertise positions the region to lead in developing, integrating, and deploying technologies critical to national defense. - San Diego has the potential to roughly double the number of firms in its defense industrial base.
More than 7,600 regional companies have yet to engage with the DoW, at least half developing technologies aligned with national defense priorities. Winning average-sized contracts for even half of interested firms in three priority technologies would add roughly $52 million in economic impact. - The region’s biggest opportunity is more than just innovation—it is paving pathways from innovation to adoption to scaling.
Despite the region’s strengths, 62% of surveyed companies involved with the DoW identified difficulty moving from pilot stage to full-scale production. Expanding access to testing and validation, acquisition expertise, and manufacturing infrastructure will help companies overcome these barriers and scale. - Greater regional coordination is essential to translating San Diego’s defense strengths into investment and economic growth.
Despite its substantial defense footprint, interviews with industry stakeholders and advisory group discussions highlighted the need for stronger regional coordination around testing access, industry engagement, and advocacy. A unified regional effort can help expand the national perception of San Diego from a military town to a defense innovation powerhouse, attracting new investment, companies, and opportunities for economic growth.
“Washington is asking the defense industrial base to move faster, produce more, and bring in commercial innovation. This report and Roadmap will help our region answer that call with a unified set of priorities. I’ll work with the Navy, my colleagues in Congress, and local partners to make sure San Diego’s needs are heard, from testing infrastructure to workforce, and that our installations and the companies that support them remain central to U.S. national security,” said Congressman Scott Peters.
Strategies for the future
The Roadmap organizes proposed initiatives under three strategies:
- Catalyze defense innovation: A San Diego Proving Grounds, a coordinated portfolio of air and maritime testing environments; a San Diego Defense Innovation Hub, building on UC San Diego’s FORGE and SDSU’s National Security Hub; and a San Diego Biodefense Consortium linking the region’s life sciences strength to defense health demand.
- Enable defense production at scale: Ready to Deploy Sites to prepare manufacturing-ready parcels and speed permitting, and a Maritime Modernization Initiative building on the COMPASS coalition and CalSEA to help shipbuilders and suppliers adopt advanced manufacturing.
- Advance regional advocacy and national positioning: A coordinated advocacy strategy at the federal, state, and regional levels, and a defense marketing strategy with signature activations including an Invest in San Diego experience, a San Diego Unmanned Maritime Systems Gauntlet, and defense-focused trade missions.
To drive implementation, EDC and SDMAC are establishing the San Diego Defense Council, a coordinating body that will advance the Defense Innovation Roadmap’s priorities, identify champions for individual initiatives, align partners and resources, track progress, and unify regional advocacy and marketing efforts.
“San Diego’s defense and innovation ecosystem is one of our region’s greatest economic strengths, and this Defense Innovation Roadmap gives us a shared, data-driven plan to grow it. Through our partnership with the San Diego Regional EDC, SDMAC is proud to help lead the integration of the military, industry, and university communities so that the technologies of tomorrow are developed, tested, and built right here in San Diego,” said David M. Boone, Rear Admiral, Civil Engineers Corps, USN (Retired); President & CEO, SDMAC.
“Too many good technologies stall between a successful pilot and a funded program. Bridging that gap takes more than innovation. It takes integration, acquisition know-how, and relationships on both sides. Companies like Booz Allen who are at the center of the defense tech ecosystem can help emerging companies navigate procurement, meet mission requirements, and plug into larger programs. The Roadmap’s vision for clearer pathways to market gives primes and startups a better way to work together, and gives the Navy and the Department of War a faster route from prototype to capability,” said Jennie Brooks, Executive Vice President at Booz Allen, the report’s underwriter.
“Imagine a founder with an autonomous vessel who can test it on the water this week, put it in front of Navy users next week, and find a production site the week after. That’s the San Diego story. If the region delivers coordinated proving grounds and ready-to-build sites, this becomes the place where defense and maritime companies are founded, proven, and built for decades to come. Seasats is proud to represent what’s possible if we get this moment right,” said Mike Flanigan, Co-Founder & CEO, Seasats—local manufacturer of autonomous surface vessels for defense, commercial, and scientific missions.
Underwritten by Booz Allen, with support from SDMAC, San Diego State University, UC San Diego, New Localism Associates, and the Prebys Foundation, the Defense Innovation Roadmap was released at an event at Firestorm Labs on October 27.
