Mobile to Host First Gulf Coast Aerospace & Defense Summit May 25-27, 2027, With Airbus as Platinum Sponsor

MOBILE, Ala. — The City of Mobile will host the first Gulf Coast Aerospace & Defense Summit on May 25–27, 2027, at the Mobile Convention Center, bringing manufacturers, suppliers, buyers and industry leaders from across the country and overseas to the Port City for three days of business meetings, exhibits and discussion.

Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis announced the event, known as GCADS, on Monday, Nov. 9. It will be organized by Advanced Business Events, with Airbus signed on as a platinum sponsor. Registration for both attendees and exhibitors is already open.

City leaders said Mobile was chosen because of its central place in what they describe as one of the fastest-growing aerospace and defense regions in the United States, anchored by the Airbus U.S. manufacturing campus at the Brookley Aeroplex.

What the summit will include

The heart of the summit is a structured business-to-business meeting program. Instead of relying only on chance encounters on a show floor, events of this type typically arrange scheduled, one-on-one meetings between buyers and suppliers ahead of time, so that companies looking for parts, services or partners can sit down with firms that may be able to meet those needs.

Alongside those meetings, the program will feature:

• An exhibition where companies can show their products and capabilities
• Networking opportunities for attendees and exhibitors
• A conference focused on issues shaping aerospace and defense manufacturing and supply chains

The summit will run from Tuesday, May 25, through Thursday, May 27, 2027, the week before Memorial Day.

Who the event is for

Organizers said the summit is designed for companies across the full aerospace and defense supply chain. The intended audience includes:

• Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and prime contractors
• Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers
• Procurement and supply chain teams
• Manufacturers and engineering firms
• Maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and aftermarket providers
• Technology and cybersecurity innovators
• Defense and government stakeholders
• Economic development organizations

Exhibitors are expected to represent a broad range of capabilities, from aerostructures, composites and precision machining to avionics, automation, workforce training and logistics.

For readers less familiar with industry terms, OEMs are the companies that design and assemble finished products such as aircraft, while prime contractors hold the main contracts on large defense programs. Tier 1 suppliers sell major systems and parts directly to those companies, and Tier 2 suppliers provide components to the Tier 1 firms. MRO providers keep aircraft and equipment in service after delivery.

Mayor: ‘Mobile is where aerospace is built’

Cheriogotis said the summit is a chance to show off the city’s aerospace industry to a worldwide audience.

Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis said that Mobile is where aerospace is built on the Gulf Coast and that the Gulf Coast Aerospace & Defense Summit puts that story on a global stage. He said the event will bring decision-makers to the city, open doors for local suppliers and workers, and show the world why Mobile is the right place to grow an aerospace and defense business.

For local companies, the business-to-business format is the main draw. A machine shop, engineering firm or logistics company in Mobile or Baldwin County that hopes to win work from a major manufacturer or defense contractor would usually have to travel to national trade shows to get in front of buyers. Hosting the summit at home puts those buyers in Mobile instead.

Airbus and a growing Gulf Coast corridor

The city’s announcement points to Mobile’s role as home to Airbus’ U.S. final assembly line. Airbus began building commercial aircraft at the Brookley Aeroplex in 2015, and the site has grown considerably since then. In October 2025, the company opened a second A320 Family final assembly line in Mobile, giving the campus three assembly lines in all: two for the A320 Family and one for the A220. Airbus has said it employs more than 2,000 people across about 2.5 million square feet of facilities at the Mobile site.

The company’s presence is visible well beyond the plant gates. Barges carrying Airbus fuselage and wing sections are a familiar sight on the Mobile River.

The city also noted that the broader Gulf Coast aerospace corridor includes RTX in Baldwin County. RTX’s Collins Aerospace business operates a manufacturing and maintenance, repair and overhaul facility in Foley. According to the announcement, the region is also home to additional major OEMs, defense contractors, Tier 1 suppliers, MRO providers and advanced technology companies.

Defense work is a major part of the local economy as well. Austal USA, for example, builds U.S. Navy vessels on the Mobile River and manufactures sections of nuclear submarines at its Mobile shipyard.

The venue and the setting

The summit will be held at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center, on the downtown waterfront at 1 South Water St. The facility offers about 317,000 square feet of total space, including two exhibit halls, two ballrooms and 16 meeting rooms, a layout suited to an event that combines a trade-show floor, private meetings and conference sessions. The center is managed for the city by Oak View Group, and Cheriogotis recently announced that it had been ranked the best convention center in Alabama by BusinessRate.

Its downtown location puts attendees within walking distance of hotels, restaurants and the Dauphin Street entertainment district. Visitors flying in may also have a new option by then: the Mobile Airport Authority plans to open its new commercial passenger terminal at the Brookley Aeroplex, next to the Airbus campus, in the spring of 2027.

Business events like this one are valued by host cities because attendees typically stay several nights, eat out and spend money at local businesses, which also produces lodging and sales tax revenue.

How to register

Registration for attendees and exhibitors is now open. Companies interested in exhibiting, sponsoring or taking part in the business-to-business meeting program should contact the organizer, Advanced Business Events, or watch for information from the City of Mobile.

Key details at a glance:

• Event: Gulf Coast Aerospace & Defense Summit (GCADS), the first edition
• Dates: May 25–27, 2027
• Location: Mobile Convention Center, 1 South Water St., Mobile
• Organizer: Advanced Business Events
• Platinum sponsor: Airbus
• Format: B2B meeting program, exhibition, networking and conference
• Registration: Open now for attendees and exhibitors