Key Issues
Each year the PPC establishes key issues that become the focal points of the Institute’s engagement with congressional decision makers, the administration, and state and local officials. The key issues provide the supporting pillars of our policy-related activities and products. They are driven by and support the Institute’s three domains, which are Aeronautics, R&D, and Space.
2026 Key Issues by Domain
Aviation
- Air Traffic Control and infrastructure modernization through sustained FAA NextGen investment
- Advanced Air Mobility and autonomous flight integration
- Materials and manufacturing technologies, including qualification, supply-chain, and workforce constraints
National Security
- Golden Dome / multi-layer defense readiness, including industrial-base and qualification realities
- Smart sustainment approaches to right-to-repair
- Acquisition reform to deliver capability at the speed of relevance
Research & Development
- R&D leadership and investment in laboratories and test infrastructure
- Internal Research and Development incentives and tax policy
- Academic ITAR and export-control modernization to protect the STEM pipeline
Space
- NASA budget stability, safety, and preserving science
- Soft power and the race to the Moon, including norms of behavior in cislunar space
- Space Traffic Management and Space Situational Awareness for orbital safety
Meeting Resources
- 2025 AIAA Public Policy One Pager: 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 92 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and national security. For more information, visit aiaa.org.
- Space Platform Paper: The importance of U.S. space activities to the modern economy, the American way of life, and our global stature cannot be overstated. U.S. space preeminence – a singular source of national pride and leadership – was established and must be preserved through bold, fast-paced, exciting missions; international partnerships in civil space exploration; an efficient and sustainable commercial industry; essential military capabilities for navigation, surveillance, and communications; and setting and embodying the norms of behavior and operations in space. However, there is still much to be done from a policy and regulatory perspective to address remaining issues that hinder this vision for U.S. space preeminence.