Chris Budihas, Chief Military Officer for Silicon Beach Development, presented an overview of the Keystone Heights Innovation & Defense Campus at the 2026 NDIA First Coast Defense Round Table on September 21 in Jacksonville.
The event brought together leaders from the military, government, industry, academia, and the community to discuss opportunities for stronger regional collaboration and defense-driven growth.
A regional platform for emerging technology
Chris shared the vision for KHIDC as a proposed dual-use environment where defense and commercial companies could develop, prototype, integrate, test, and manufacture advanced autonomous air and ground systems.
The presentation placed KHIDC within Northeast Florida's wider defense ecosystem, which includes major military installations, a growing defense industrial base, research and education partners, and a skilled workforce.
Progress through partnership
Initiatives of this scale do not move forward in isolation. They depend on sustained collaboration across the military, government, industry, academia, and the communities where the work is proposed.
We appreciate the NDIA First Coast Chapter for creating a forum for that conversation and everyone who engaged with the KHIDC vision.
KHIDC remains a proposed development, and all future facilities, activities, partnerships, and timelines are subject to planning, agreements, and applicable approvals.