One year after defense contractor Anduril Industries announced plans to build Arsenal-1 in Pickaway County, construction is active across multiple buildings, a 10-year site plan has been finalized and the company is preparing to begin production of its first aircraft program by the second quarter of this year.
For the Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, this is one of the most significant construction projects in the region’s history — and the work outlook appears to be growing.
Building 1 Taking Shape
Construction on Building 1 is moving at pace. Once complete, the facility will include 775,000 square feet of production space plus an additional 120,000 square feet of office and support space — nearly 900,000 square feet under one roof.
Elford is serving as the phase one general contractor, and according to C/COBCTC Executive Secretary-Treasurer Dorsey Hager, that first phase alone will create 400 jobs for affiliated building trades members.
Building 2 Is Already Out of the Ground
Anduril broke ground on Building 2 last summer. At more than 924,000 square feet, it is an even larger facility than Building 1. Crews are currently raising walls and preparing to begin interior work — a significant milestone for a project of this scale.
A 10-Year Buildout Through 2035
Anduril has finalized a full site plan that maps out a staggered buildout through 2035. The plan includes additional manufacturing and warehouse buildings, a centralized hub, a substation, facilities operations buildings, roadwork and a campus amenities building. Rather than arriving all at once, the buildings will come online in phases — meaning sustained, long-term construction work for building trades members throughout the decade.
The First Product: An Autonomous Fighter Jet for the U.S. Air Force
The first program slated for production at Arsenal-1 is the YFQ-44A, a missionized variant of Anduril’s Fury autonomous fighter jet developed for the U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program. Anduril took the aircraft from clean-sheet design to a fully built jet in 365 days, began flight testing in October 2024 and is working toward operational capability by the end of the decade.
Production of the YFQ-44A is targeted to begin in Building 1 by Q2 2026, with additional programs expected to move production to Arsenal-1 over the next 12 months.
H2 Ohio Hiring Has Begun
Anduril has hired its first 25 Ohio-based employees — technical production and manufacturing roles who joined the company in July and trained at the firm’s California headquarters. Those early hires will return to Ohio to support full-scale hiring and the start of production at Building 1.
Arsenal-1 is the largest single job creation investment in Ohio’s history, with Anduril expecting to hire approximately 4,000 employees at the site.
Recent leadership hires tied to the Ohio expansion include Kevin Kerr as Vice President of Production for Arsenal-1, David Frash as Director of State and Local Government Relations and Kristen Easterday as Director of External Affairs, who will be based in Central Ohio.
H2 What This Means for the Building Trades
“We’re very excited about the Anduril project,” said Hager. “It is going to lead to exceptional growth in Pickaway County, not only with the Anduril campus but also with their suppliers.
Anduril is also working with Pickaway County officials and state engineers on road and traffic design and has begun outreach to community partners and area schools — a sign that the company is committed to integrating into the region for the long term.
With a 10-year buildout on the horizon, additional programs moving to the site, and a supplier ecosystem expected to follow, Arsenal-1 represents exactly the kind of generational project that benefits from a building trades partnership.