Dispatches from the floor

There's plenty of news at SMD happening on the floor, too.

Zoom in: Here's who Axios caught up with Monday:

🤖 Machina Labs eyes Huntsville for new factory

Machina Labs, an advanced manufacturer that utilizes AI-enabled robotic arms to shape sheet metal into different aerospace, defense and other components, is carefully evaluating Huntsville for its next factory, CEO Edward Mehr told Axios Tuesday.

• Mehr said the company has identified a site, but is waiting to see how state incentives and other details materialize among sites it's considering, calling Huntsville "a top contender."
• Machina's ability to supply custom parts quickly — in some cases 50 times as fast — is paying dividends with sustainment, especially for aircraft where many times the only option is to head to the boneyard for replacement parts, Mehr said.

📈 SPA picks up steam

Huntsville-based Intrepid, which was acquired by Systems Planning & Analysis last year, is on a hot streak as it rolls in to SMD, Mike Starling, Army integrated engineering group lead, told Axios.

• Intrepid has grown to about 400 employees and increased revenue to $260 million from $200 million, he said, and at SMD was focusing on counter-UAS, a rapidly-evolving threat landscape, and harnessing AI to help.
• "When I first started in the industry, we were worried about one rogue threat," like a single ICBM, Starling said. Now it's swarms of hundreds or thousands of drones, a data load with which AI will have to assist in deciphering.

🏢 Auria's Huntsville hub

Huntsville is one of only a few places where Auria Space maintains a physical office, CEO Damian DiPippa told Axios.

• Roughly half Auria's work, which focuses on software and engineering for space, missile defense and cybersecurity, is with U.S. Space Force, he said, and about 20% is commercial.
• That commercial aspect, he said, is an advantage for Auria, which can leverage that same technology toward hypersonics, UAVs and missile systems.
• "You can expect to see Auria competing more in Huntsville as a prime contractor going forward," DiPippa told Axios.

What we're watching: There's a focus on U.S. Space Command throughout the event, so catch tomorrow's newsletter for all the latest Spacecom news.