An artist’s impression of Anduril’s planned Arsenal-1 manufacturing facility. (Anduril Industries)
Anduril Industries has selected a site near Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus, Ohio, for its planned 5 million square foot unmanned vehicle manufacturing plant, chief strategy officer Chris Brose said in January. He told reporters on the 15th. Construction on the $1 billion factory, called Arsenal-1, will begin “as soon as permits are received” and is expected to be completed in 2025, Brose said.
Brose said the search for a suitable factory site took a year and considered factories across the United States. Brose said there were several reasons why Columbus landed at the factory. It has access to Rickenbacker International Airport, which has two 12,000-foot (3,657-meter) runways, a large apron, and hangars suitable for large aircraft. Proximity to interstate highways and freight rail lines. There is a large pool of skilled labor in the region. It is also close to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, home to the Air Force Research Laboratory and other research institutions. Testing of aviation products at Rickenbacker International Airport and nearby locations is the subject of “expected discussions in the coming months” with Ohio officials, Brose said.
Brose said Arsenal-1’s output will be “thousands” of unmanned systems each year, many of which will share common components and software. The first planned product is the Fury unmanned fighter, one of two joint fighter models for the United States Air Force (USAF). the Roadrunner Anti-Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS); and the Barracuda cruise missile. The first products are expected to leave the factory in mid-2025, Brose added, and the company plans to add to the product line in the future.
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