The Air Force canceled its premiere acquisition seminar and collaborative meeting with industry for 2025 to comply with Trump administration efficiency directives, the Air Force Materiel Command’s Life Cycle Management Center said March 11. The Life Cycle Industry Days 2025 event was to be held the Convention Center in Dayton, Ohio, July 28 and 29.
“Based on Air Force guidance on mission-critical categories of exempted travel consistent with Executive Order 14222, ‘Implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Cost Efficiency Initiative’, and in consultation with the Dayton Development Coalition and representatives of the State of Ohio, we have canceled the 9th annual Life Cycle Industry Days and Wright Dialogue with Industry this year,” an Air Force spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine.
The weeklong event typically features 2-3 days of top-level open-source briefings and speeches by AFMC leadership, along with briefings from Program Executive Officers. Officials also share classified presentations to cleared audiences and meet individually with industry representatives. The assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, AFMC commander, and LCMC commander all typically present at an event centered on Air Force technical interests and needs.
In recent years, AFMC commander Gen. Duke Richardson has used the conference to explain AFMC’s organizational changes and the move toward digital design, digital program reviews, and digital contracting. The Air Force Research Laboratory also typically offers presentations about its high-profile and emerging programs.
Industry and academic exhibitors showcase new technologies in an exhibit hall, showing off new capabilities for the Air Force’s technical experts and decision makers.
Still unclear is whether the event will now be shelved for good or if it will return next year. “We will re-evaluate in 2026 to ensure these events provide the best use of taxpayers’ dollars and align with President Trump’s priorities for our national defense,” the spokesperson said. Asked who specifically decided to cancel the event, the spokesperson said “the decision was made in collaboration with all event stakeholders.”
The only other time the LCID conference was canceled was in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The spokesperson said the Air Force will incur no costs due to the cancelation; it is unclear if Dayton Defense, the Dayton Area Defense Contractors Association, will bear any costs. The event has been co-produced by the association and Air Force commands at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, including AFMC, AFRL and LCMC.
The 2024 Life Cycle Industry Days conference, featuring an address by Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall set records for attendance, LCMC said in a press release regarding last year’s event. It touted “32 strategic small business meetings,” displays by various program executive offices, and the opportunity for LCMC and AFRL directorates to promote “their latest technologies and successes.”
The LCID event is the first to be outright canceled in the wake of the Trump efficiency directive. Last week’s AFA Warfare Symposium was held immediately following the order to cut back on travel; while the overall event continued without disruption, overall attendance was down from the prior year. The main difference was a decline in rank-and-file Airmen and Guardians. (The AFA Warfare Symposium is produced by the Air & Space Forces Association, which also publishes this magazine.)
An AFA official said Air Force, Space Force, and industry leadership were all “well represented” and both industry and Department of the Air Force leaders “reported productive interactions.”
Defense contractors contacted about the policy and the LCID event cancellation declined to comment. One industry official, who asked not to be identified, said the LCID conference “is a valuable one for us, and I’m disappointed it’s not going forward. … We have good regular [interaction] with our Air Force customer, but [the Dayton event] is a good chance to see what everybody is focused on, and get ideas on how we can work together collaboratively.”