Vigilant Aerospace Systems Director of Business Development Zach Peterson has been selected as Vice President of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Northern Tier Chapter. The chapter serves defense and national security stakeholders across Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
Peterson’s role supports the chapter’s work to connect industry, government, and academia in the region. It also reflects the growing operational focus on resilient supply chains, workforce readiness, and dual-use technology development in the Great Plains.
Regional defense collaboration in the Northern Tier
NDIA chapters operate as local convening groups for defense and national security communities. The NDIA Northern Tier Chapter describes its focus as education, professional development, and collaboration across the defense industrial base in its five-state footprint.
For companies and partners in the region, chapter leadership roles help shape programming and stakeholder engagement. That often includes coordinating events, identifying topics for discussion, and supporting member outreach. These activities help align regional capabilities with national defense priorities.
Zach Peterson’s role and industry focus
At Vigilant Aerospace, Peterson leads business development activities that support the company’s work with aerospace, defense, and uncrewed systems stakeholders. His scope includes partnership development and government-facing engagement.
Peterson has focused on the aerospace sector since 2017. He brings more than 20 years of experience in customer success and sales across multiple industries. He also has experience with product launches and go-to-market planning.
He earned an M.B.A. from the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota. He is also a certificated private pilot and an FAA Part 107 remote pilot.
Why this matters for the Great Plains defense ecosystem
The Northern Tier states support a broad mix of defense missions and industrial capacity. They also include expanding activity in autonomy, uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), and enabling infrastructure. Regional forums like NDIA chapters help organizations coordinate on practical issues.
Those issues can include acquisition pathways, test and evaluation needs, and training pipelines. They can also include technology transition topics that affect both defense and commercial aviation.
Vigilant Aerospace will continue participating in regional industry forums that strengthen cross-sector coordination. These forums are increasingly important as autonomy programs scale and standards mature.
About the NDIA Northern Tier Chapter
The NDIA Northern Tier Chapter is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit and an NDIA regional chapter. It represents organizations across Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. The chapter focuses on convening leaders from industry, government, and academia to support national defense and security priorities.
About NDIA
The National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) educational association. NDIA provides forums for collaboration among government, industry, and academia on national security and defense needs. NDIA was formed through a merger of predecessor associations, including one founded in 1919.
Vigilant Aerospace is the leading developer of multi-sensor detect-and-avoid and airspace management software for uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS or drones). The company’s product, FlightHorizon, is based on two NASA patents and uses data from multiple sources to display a real-time picture of the air traffic around a UAS and to provide automatic avoidance maneuvers to prevent collisions. The software is designed to meet industry technical standards, to provide automatic safety and to allow UAS to safely fly beyond the sight of the pilot. The software has won multiple industry awards and the company has had contracts and users at NASA, the FAA, the U.S. Department of Defense and with a variety of drone development programs. Visit our website at www.VigilantAerospace.com