Defense manufacturer gets massive $452M Ohio tax credit

The tax credit has an estimated value of $452,263,789, Ohio government said.

“These investments are propelling Ohio into a future defined by innovation, cutting-edge technology, and unmatched opportunity,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in an announcement Monday. “Anduril is not only revolutionizing America’s defense industry, but it’s joining the wave of coastal companies expanding to Ohio and bringing thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in capital investment to the heart of it all.”

The facility, a little over an hour from Dayton, will be built on 500 acres in Pickaway County near Rickenbacker International Airport, with room for future growth, state leaders have said. By 2035, it will employ some 4,000 workers, who company and government officials say will have an average salary of $132,000.

Anduril, a California-based defense technology company, will build what the state and the company are calling “Arsenal-1,” a 5-million-square-foot manufacturing facility.

The plant is expected to eventually directly employ 4,000 workers, creating 4,500 additional indirect jobs, while creating more than $2 billion in economic output.

“Anduril’s investment in Ohio represents a transformative moment for our state, showcasing the power of collaboration between local, state, and private partners,” said Lydia Mihalik, director of the Ohio Department of Development.

Pickaway County will also request $70 million from the All Ohio Future Fund at an upcoming Controlling Board meeting, the state said.

In April, the Air Force announced that Anduril had been selected as one of two vendors to move forward on the Collaborative Combat Aircraft or “CCA” program, a program overseen at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

The CCA will be an uncrewed drone flying with the F-35 and the Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter, not only flying autonomously, but eventually contributing to battle success autonomously.

While the Air Force in April awarded contracts to Anduril and General Atomics for the air vehicle portion of the project, the identities of five companies working on the CCA’s autonomy software has been classified.

The start-up has made a name for itself in the realm of autonomous systems and weapons for the military employing new artificial intelligence muscle.