Protesters target warmongers conference in Philly

Philadelphia

Over 60 people protested a military-industrial complex conference outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia on Aug, 26, 2026.

Carrying “War Criminals Work Here” signs and banners critical of Philadelphia war profiteer Day & Zimmermann and Korean military ship manufacturer Hanwha, protesters heard speeches and joined in chants against the executives attending the war industry conference, many with blood on their hands from current global imperialist aggression, including the U.S.-Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and the U.S. wars in Iran, Ukraine and Sudan.

Plans for future wars and how best to profit from them were the main topics of discussion for the gathering of over 2,200 people and 120 exhibitors inside the building.

The U.S. Department of War held the inaugural Defense Industrial Base Accelerator event from Aug. 25-27, led by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy. Flush with well over $1 trillion from the military budget, Pentagon officials, war industry leaders and other war profiteers came together “in pursuit of a defense investment revolution.” (https://shorturl.at/azmLf )

Their website described the conference’s purpose: “The National Defense Strategy is clear: to deter near-peer adversaries, the United States must return to being the world’s premier arsenal, capable of producing for ourselves and our allies at scale, rapidly, and at the highest levels of quality. 

“The discussion will unpack the whole-of-government effort to shape international industrial cooperation, drive allied burden-sharing, and accelerate coalition interoperability while protecting the U.S. technological edge. Panelists will discuss efforts underway focused on streamlining the arms transfer process, reforming export controls, and advocating for U.S. defense capabilities worldwide.”

The conference emphasized the need for increasing domestic military manufacturing: “The Build Freedom Campaign’s goal is to strengthen American manufacturing and equip the military with the equipment it needs; this campaign will elevate defense manufacturing as a modern, high-tech, high-impact career and connect Americans to real pathways into the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) through training, credentials, scholarships and jobs.”

Read Military-industrial complex: Bad for workers – Workers World to learn more on how production for military aggression undermines the livelihoods and health of our communities.

Numerous roundtables and breakout discussions highlighted the “critical role of private capital in strengthening the U.S. defense industrial base, the economic drivers for investing in defense technology and the strategies needed to counter threats posed by the CCP [China Communist Party].” (https://shorturl.at/azmLf )

Weapons that threaten humanity

While this conference was planned months ago, the necessity to hold it was proven by the loss of huge stocks of weapons and equipment by the U.S. military in their war against Iran that began on Feb. 28. 

Modernization of deadly military weapons and the ability to replace weapons and equipment quickly were primary goals of the warmakers’ assembly, especially as it relates to the use of military drones: “As modern warfare dictates that air supremacy now relies on the relentless deployment of autonomous, attritable swarms, this session explores the urgent industrial imperative to achieve absolute drone dominance. Attendees will discover lessons to design agile, high-volume manufacturing pipelines, ensuring the Department of War can field the overwhelming kinetic mass necessary to defeat near-peer adversaries.”

Contrary to the conference’s aims, on Aug. 28, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Mirjana Spoljaric called for urgent prohibitions and restrictions on autonomous weapons systems. “We are now dangerously close to crossing a moral red line: the autonomous targeting of humans by machines,” Guterres said.  He asserted: “innovation must serve humanity — not endanger it.” (https://shorturl.at/6fHXI )

As demonstrators rallied outside the Philadelphia conference of warmongers, a Counter Terrorism police vehicle sat nearby. The protesters holding the “Smash Imperialism!” banner just feet away contend that the real terrorists were not on the sidewalks, but were inside the building.