Anduril expects to produce Fury, Roadrunner, and Barracuda at the Ohio facility.

A central feature of Anduril’s pitch, however, isn’t the drone itself but rather the technology connecting it to the operators on the ground. They’ve developed their own operating system known as Arsenal to design and build products as well as a platform called Lattice allowing a single person to control a cloud of drones or a large group to participate in controlling a single aircraft like Fury.

What’re they building

Anduril is building its Arsenal-1 facility on 500 acres near the Rickenbacker Airport. When it’s all said and done, the company envisions a five million square foot facility producing tens of thousands of vehicles a year. And Anduril’s leaders are setting an aggressive timeline. Although local permits are still clearing and they haven’t begun building the production facility or hiring workers, they expect to have products coming off the assembly line by July of next year.

“In today’s world, success is measured not just in capabilities, but in how quickly and efficiently we can deliver them,” Anduril co-founder and executive chairman Trae Stephens said. “Across the globe, we see rising threats to democratic values and the rule of law, the speed and scale of technological innovation have become decisive factors in national security.”

Co-founder and CEO Brian Schimpf argued the war in Ukraine has illustrated vulnerabilities in U.S. stockpiles of munitions.

“We do not have the capability to deter the conflict of today, and we are vulnerable to the looming conflict of the future,” he said. “Put simply, we need to manufacture more weapons faster to support that effort.”

Why Ohio?

Like many large economic development deals, state officials dangled incentives to attract the company to the Buckeye State. Not long after the Ohio announced landing the next Intel microchip facility, DeWine asked lawmakers to set up an All Ohio Future Fund to prepare sites for major developments. Anduril is requesting $70 million from the fund for its new factory. In addition, the company will seek a tax credit through the Ohio Department of Development tied to employment benchmarks.

DeWine insisted their agreement is structured to ensure Anduril holds up its end of the bargain.

“With one of these projects, whether it is Intel, whoever it is, there is a deal made, and the money goes out, but the jobs have to be created,” DeWine said. “So here we’re talking about scaling up to 4,000 jobs, that’s what has to happen.”

“And we have not been afraid,” Lt. Gov. Jon Husted chimed in, “in any circumstance, including with General Motors, to go claw back any incentives that they don’t deliver on.”

According to the announcement, Anduril is supposed to hit that 4,000 employee benchmark by 2035.

Husted also argued Ohio was a great option for Anduril separate and apart from the incentive package. He pointed to several other aerospace and defense companies already call Ohio home, including General Dynamics and GE.

“This is truly a victory where preparation has met opportunity,” he said.

“Ohio has the workforce, the research and development, the testing, the manufacturing capabilities, and the customer,” in reference to Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton.

Husted also emphasized the state’s progress in developing career pathways outside of a four-year degree — a pet project since taking office.  Husted expects Anduril to hire people who find their way to the company through community colleges or certificate training programs.

“You just have to have the aptitude and the desire to go do things like this,” Husted said. “I mean, these jobs are going to average $132,000 a year in advanced manufacturing that most anybody can qualify to achieve. So this is perfect for Ohio, because it’s going to help middle class Americans have just secure jobs that they can be proud of.”

Anduril officials confirmed a bachelor’s degree isn’t a requirement for their positions.

What officials didn’t share Thursday was the scope of the incentive package offered through JobsOhio. The economic development corporation is funded through Ohio liquor sales, but because it’s structured as a private entity it faces fewer public disclosure requirements. Still, officials promised to disclose the amount of funding once the deal is finalized.

Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky.