International Landing Zone

International Landing Zone RFP

Supports international aerospace and defense firms in Michigan through local office and market-entry backing.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) issued a 2026 Request for Proposals soliciting applications from Local Economic Development Organizations (LEDOs) to establish regional International Landing Zone sites across Michigan. The program is designed to connect international defense and aerospace companies to Michigan's industrial ecosystem by creating temporary, short-term office infrastructure — available for up to six months per tenant company — where visiting firms can conduct market exploration, meet potential partners and customers, and develop business relationships within the state's defense and aerospace sectors.

Eligibility is restricted exclusively to LEDOs that can demonstrate the organizational capacity to develop and execute programming for International Landing Zone operations. For-profit companies, individual applicants, universities, and research institutions are not eligible. MEDC will award one or more grants to successful applicants; specific dollar amounts were not disclosed in the public solicitation. The question submission deadline was May 19, 2026, and the full proposal deadline was June 12, 2026 at 3:00 p.m., submitted electronically via email.

Winning LEDOs will be responsible for standing up regional sites and administering the programming that hosts visiting international companies. Organizations positioned to succeed are those with existing relationships in Michigan's defense and aerospace supply chain, administrative capacity to manage short-term occupancy agreements, and regional credibility that makes the landing zone compelling to international market entrants. The full scoring criteria and detailed award structure are contained in the PDF attached to the public notice at michiganbusiness.org/public-notices-rfps/454439/.