AI Fighter Jets, Drones, And Missiles: Americas Largest AI Weapons And Defense Company Locks In On Ohio
Updated: Aug 2
Anduril begins building autonomous military aircraft as Ohio bets heavily on defense technology
Anduril Industries is a privately held American defense technology company that combines artificial intelligence, software, sensors and robotics with military hardware. The company builds uncrewed aircraft, counter-drone defenses, missiles, surveillance systems, underwater vehicles and software intended to connect those systems into a common operating network. Its importance to Ohio is now substantial because Anduril is positioning Pickaway County as a major manufacturing center for the next generation of American military equipment.
The company reached its first major Ohio production milestone July 27, when the first Ohio built Fury aircraft rolled off the production line at Arsenal-1 near Rickenbacker International Airport. Fury, formally designated the FQ-44 by the U.S. Air Force, is a semi-autonomous, uncrewed combat aircraft designed to operate with traditional fighter aircraft. Anduril says the current Ohio production line has the capacity to build as many as 150 Fury aircraft annually. That figure describes the line’s potential capacity, not the number of aircraft the federal government has ordered.
Production work began in March, approximately three months ahead of Anduril’s original target. The first completed aircraft came 557 days after Ohio and the company announced the project in January 2025. At full buildout, Arsenal-1 is planned as a five-million-square-foot manufacturing campus on approximately 500 acres, with access to the Rickenbacker runway for aircraft development and testing. Anduril has committed to create 4,008 production and service jobs and invest at least $910.5 million by 2035. JobsOhio describes it as the largest single job-creation and new-payroll project in Ohio history.
The project is important to Ohio for more than its physical size. The state is attempting to establish itself as a center for advanced defense manufacturing at a time when drones, autonomous aircraft, inexpensive missiles and artificial intelligence are changing how militaries operate. Arsenal-1 could connect central Ohio’s manufacturing workforce with the state’s existing aerospace industry, research universities, military installations and logistics network. JobsOhio reports that Ohio already contains more than 640 aerospace companies.
Anduril is different from a traditional aircraft manufacturer because its central product is not one particular plane or missile. The company’s foundation is a software platform called Lattice, which can combine information from cameras, radar, radio frequency detectors and other sensors into a shared operating picture. Lattice is also designed to help human operators coordinate different uncrewed aircraft, ground systems, sensors and defensive equipment from one platform. Anduril describes its mission-autonomy version of Lattice as operating diverse robotic systems under human supervision.
Fury is intended for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. The concept is to place less expensive uncrewed aircraft alongside crewed fighters, allowing the uncrewed aircraft to extend a pilot’s reach, carry sensors or weapons, enter dangerous airspace and provide additional aircraft without placing a person inside every cockpit. The Air Force awarded production contracts in June to Anduril for the FQ-44 and General Atomics for the FQ-42. It has said it wants to acquire more than 150 combat-capable collaborative aircraft by the end of the decade and approximately 1,000 over the longer term. Those goals cover the broader program and should not be interpreted as an order for 1,000 Anduril aircraft. The Air Force has not publicly disclosed the value of Anduril’s production contract or the number of FQ-44 aircraft included in its initial order.
Anduril has also identified other systems that could eventually be manufactured at Arsenal-1. Those include the Roadrunner aerial interceptor and members of the Barracuda missile family. The company has said production of its Barracuda-500M will ultimately shift to Ohio, while Reuters previously reported that Roadrunner, Barracuda and at least one classified system were expected to join the Ohio operation. Those products should still be described as planned or expected at Arsenal-1 unless the company confirms that their individual Ohio production lines are operating.
From virtual reality to military technology
Anduril was cofounded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey, the technology entrepreneur best known for creating the Oculus virtual reality company. Luckey grew up in Long Beach, California, where he was homeschooled and developed an early interest in electronics and virtual reality equipment. He founded Oculus in 2012 at age 19 after developing experimental headsets as a teenager.
Facebook agreed to acquire Oculus in 2014 for approximately $2 billion, including $400 million in cash and Facebook shares then valued at about $1.6 billion. Luckey was 21 at the time. After leaving Facebook, he cofounded Anduril with Brian Schimpf, Trae Stephens, Matt Grimm and Joseph Chen. Luckey is the company’s founder and most recognizable public representative, but he is not its chief executive officer. Schimpf serves as CEO, Stephens is executive chairman and Grimm is chief operating officer.
Forbes estimated Luckey’s personal net worth at approximately $4.9 billion as of July 30. That is an outside estimate rather than a verified amount of cash. A substantial portion of his wealth is believed to be tied to his ownership in Anduril, which is privately held and does not publicly disclose the size of his current stake.
Anduril itself raised $5 billion from private investors in May at a valuation of $61 billion. The company said its revenue more than doubled to $2.2 billion in 2025 and that its workforce nearly doubled. Reuters reported July 24 that Anduril was discussing another fundraising arrangement that could place its valuation near $100 billion, but those discussions were described as fluid and no $100 billion valuation has been finalized. A private valuation is also not the same as annual sales, profit or money held by the company.
Ohio’s financial commitment
Ohio and JobsOhio have offered an unusually large package of assistance to secure the project. JobsOhio executed a $310 million grant agreement with Anduril in 2025. The assistance is payable over 10 years and is tied to the company creating 4,008 jobs, producing more than $530 million in annual payroll and completing at least $910.5 million in capital investment. The company must then maintain those commitments for the remaining 20 years of the 30-year agreement.
At full staffing in 2035, JobsOhio projects an average annual salary slightly above $132,305. That is a facility wide average calculated across the entire workforce. It is not a promised starting wage for every production employee. Engineers, software developers, specialized technicians and managers could increase the overall average above the wages paid for assembly, warehouse, maintenance and entry level manufacturing positions.
The Ohio Tax Credit Authority separately approved a 2.594 percent refundable Job Creation Tax Credit lasting 30 years, from 2026 through 2055. The credit is calculated from qualifying new Ohio payroll above the project’s established baseline. JobsOhio has estimated that the tax credit could save Anduril approximately $450 million, although the actual value will depend on employment, payroll and compliance over time.
Ohio also approved $70 million from the All Ohio Future Fund to support preparation of the Arsenal-1 site. That money is intended for development work needed to make major industrial properties ready for construction and operation. The publicly identified support therefore extends beyond the $310 million JobsOhio grant, although the tax credit’s final value will not be known for decades.
What the project could mean for Ohio
If Anduril fulfills its commitments, Arsenal-1 would bring more than half a billion dollars in annual payroll into central Ohio and could create new business for manufacturers of electronics, aircraft components, wiring, engines, sensors, composite materials, metal parts and industrial equipment. Its location near Rickenbacker provides access to highways, rail transportation, cargo operations and a runway suitable for aircraft testing.
The factory could also increase demand for machinists, aircraft technicians, electricians, software developers, engineers, quality-control workers and employees trained in advanced manufacturing. That creates opportunities for Ohio universities, community colleges and career-technical schools, but it will also require those institutions to produce enough qualified workers as the project expands.
The long term outcome is not guaranteed by the first completed aircraft. The 4,008 jobs and $530 million payroll are commitments for 2035, not a description of the current workforce. The capacity to manufacture 150 Fury aircraft each year does not establish that the Air Force will order that many. Likewise, federal contract ceilings measured in billions of dollars do not guarantee that those amounts will be spent or that the resulting work will be assigned to Ohio.
Ohio is making a major wager that Anduril will grow from a heavily financed technology company into one of the country’s leading defense manufacturers. The first Ohio built Fury shows that actual production has begun. The project’s ultimate value to the state will be measured by the number of permanent jobs created, the wages employees actually receive, the amount of private investment completed, the Ohio suppliers hired and the public incentives paid compared with the economic activity that Arsenal-1 ultimately produces.
Anduril’s major government contracts
The largest publicly documented contract associated with Anduril is a U.S. Army agreement announced March 13. Federal records list a cumulative contract total of $20 billion through March 2036 for Lattice, integrated hardware, data systems, computing infrastructure and technical support.
That does not mean the Army has already paid Anduril $20 billion. The federal announcement states that work locations and funding will be determined with each order. The agreement functions as a long-term purchasing vehicle that allows the Army and participating agencies to place orders more quickly. Actual spending will depend on what the government orders during the next decade.
The Marine Corps awarded Anduril a separate $642.21 million indefinite-delivery contract in 2025 to deliver, install and sustain systems that protect military installations from small drones. Because it is an indefinite-delivery contract, the $642.21 million represents the contract’s potential ceiling rather than a guarantee that the entire amount will be spent.
Anduril also received one of two Marine Corps contracts for counter drone engagement equipment used with the Marine Air Defense Integrated System. Each company’s contract has a maximum value of $200 million, producing a combined ceiling of $400 million. Initial federal funding attached to the two contracts was considerably smaller, demonstrating the difference between a maximum contract value and money immediately obligated.
U.S. Special Operations Command awarded Anduril a three year, $86 million contract in 2025 to develop mission autonomy software capable of coordinating different uncrewed systems, sensors and weapons. The objective is to allow operators to direct groups of air, ground or maritime systems through a common software platform rather than controlling each machine separately.
One widely repeated figure also requires context. In 2025, Anduril took over major responsibilities for the Army’s Integrated Visual Augmentation System from Microsoft. The program involves mixed-reality equipment that can place maps, sensor feeds and tactical information within a soldier’s field of view. The frequently reported figure of nearly $22 billion was the original potential value of the broader Army program if it reached full production. It should not be added to Anduril’s other contracts as though the company received a new $22 billion payment. Anduril later announced a separate $159 million Army award involving the program’s next phase.
