Anduril Industries began producing autonomous defense drones at its new manufacturing plant in Pickaway County, Ohio, on April 6, 2026 [4].
The move signals a strategic shift toward domesticating the production of high-tech military hardware. By establishing a massive industrial footprint in the U.S. Midwest, Anduril aims to secure its supply chain and create a sustainable workforce for autonomous systems.
Trae Stephens, co-founder of Anduril, said the company chose Ohio due to the state's infrastructure, support, and talent pipelines. The facility is located near Rickenbacker Airport in Central Ohio and covers five million square feet [3].
To staff the plant, the company is partnering with local educational institutions. An Anduril spokesperson said the company is reaching into Central Ohio high schools and colleges to create a talent pipeline for the facility [0]. A company representative said the firm will lean heavily on Ohioans to make the autonomous defense drones [2].
The financial scale of the project is significant. While reports on the total cost vary between $900 million [1] and $1 billion [0], the company's overall valuation has reached $61 billion [3].
Anduril leadership said that the combination of talent and infrastructure in Ohio aligns with the company's growth strategy [2]. The decision to build in Pickaway County was driven by lower operating costs and state economic-development incentives that match the company's mission [2].
These incentives, combined with the proximity to logistics hubs like Rickenbacker Airport, allow the company to scale production quickly. The integration of high school and college graduates into the workforce is intended to ensure a steady stream of technical skill for the long-term operation of the site [0].
“Anduril is reaching into Central Ohio high schools and colleges to create a talent pipeline.”
The establishment of a five-million-square-foot facility in Ohio demonstrates a trend of defense contractors moving away from traditional hubs toward regions with lower costs and untapped technical labor. By creating direct pipelines from local high schools to a high-valuation tech firm, Anduril is attempting to industrialize the production of autonomous warfare systems at a scale previously reserved for legacy aerospace companies.
