Anduril, the military drone producer, celebrated the production of its first autonomous "Fury" drone at its Arsenal-1 facility in Pickaway County on Monday.
The company took just 18 months from announcing its intention to build the first structure on its 500-acre site and get the first Fury drone off the production line. The Fury is designed to be a robotic wingman that can scout ahead in hostile airspace for manned aircraft and fire missiles at targets.
The military contractor hopes to produce 150 of the unmanned, F-16-like drones every year at the facility near Rickenbacker Airport.
Anduril cofounder Matt Grimm says Anduril is the future of aviation.
"Today we intend to write the next chapter of flight, unmanned flight and autonomous air power, right here in Ohio. And we have no plans to do this slowly or by the old playbook," Grimm said.
Playing off of Ohio's moniker as the "Birthplace of Aviation" was a theme for the Anduril team and other speakers like Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. The drone's rudder was marked with the state nickname and the Ohio flag.
The Arsenal-1 facility received a state record $310 million grant from JobsOhio. It's expected to create 4,000 jobs by 2035, when the facility is completed.
The main hanger where the first Fury drone was built is not yet complete and Anduril's second building across the street is still a shell.
DeWine touted the state's investment in the project to reporters. He said that Ohio should now be known as "the aerospace capital of the world."
"(The) Wright Brothers started all of this in Ohio, and the Fury is being built in Ohio. And we're gonna see so many other products that are going to be built right here in Pickaway County," DeWine said.
Grimm said Anduril and the Fury is proof that the United States can be fast and innovative when producing military technology. He framed a slower, "incremental" approach as detrimental.
"That gave us low-rate production, not mass manufacturing and this all happened while threats to our country have only accelerated, especially as evidenced in recent conflicts. Arsenal exists here to change that," Grimm said.
Pickaway County Commissioner Jay Wippel said the county spent 20 years before Anduril's arrival preparing sites like this for future manufacturing investments. He said the county believed that if it did the work, opportunity would find its way there.
"(Our students) have to leave home to find a good job. They can build a life here the way their parents and grandparents did," Wippel said.
