ACSC to Honor Wahid Nawabi with the 47th Annual Howard Hughes Memorial Award

June 24, 2026

Honoring aerospace leader Wahid Nawabi with the 47th Annual Howard Hughes Memorial Award

Event Information

The Aero Club of Southern California (ACSC) invites aerospace professionals, industry leaders, and supporters to join us on Friday, October 23, 2026, at the historic California Club in Los Angeles as we celebrate Wahid Nawabi, Chairman, President, and CEO of AeroVironment, Inc., as the recipient of the 47th Annual Howard Hughes Memorial Award.

Purchase Tickets:

https://e.givesmart.com/events/Pwa/

Read the Official Press Release:

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aero-club-of-southern-california-to-award-wahid-nawabi-with-the-47th-annual-howard-hughes-memorial-award-302807423.html

The Aero Club of Southern California is proud to announce that Wahid Nawabi has been selected as the recipient of the 47th Annual Howard Hughes Memorial Award (HHMA), one of aerospace's most prestigious honors.

Presented annually by ACSC, the Howard Hughes Memorial Award recognizes individuals whose leadership, innovation, and lifetime achievements have significantly advanced aviation and aerospace. Past recipients include some of the industry's most influential pioneers and visionaries, including Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, General Chuck Yeager, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, Neal Blue, and Elon Musk.

Nawabi joins this distinguished group following more than a decade of transformational leadership at AeroVironment. Since becoming CEO in 2016, he has guided the company through extraordinary growth, expanding its capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains while helping position AeroVironment as a global leader in defense and aerospace technology.

Under his leadership, AeroVironment has evolved from a pioneering unmanned aircraft company into a diversified defense technology leader. The company's innovations have supported some of the most significant aerospace achievements of the modern era, including contributions to NASA's Ingenuity helicopter, which achieved the first powered flight on another planet.

Born in Afghanistan, Nawabi immigrated to the United States after fleeing the Soviet-Afghan conflict as a teenager. He later earned a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland and has built a career defined by innovation, resilience, and service.

"Wahid's leadership and vision have evolved AeroVironment from a creator of historic, human-powered aircraft into a prominent supplier of battlefield-proven defense technology," said ACSC President Suzanne Fuentes. "His contributions have advanced aerospace technology while helping shape the future of unmanned systems and advanced robotics. We are honored to recognize his remarkable achievements with the 2026 Howard Hughes Memorial Award."

The Howard Hughes Memorial Award Gala brings together leaders from across aviation, aerospace, defense, government, and academia to celebrate excellence and recognize those whose achievements continue to shape the future of flight.

We look forward to honoring Wahid Nawabi and celebrating his extraordinary contributions to aerospace innovation and leadership.