Anduril is getting ready to shift its massive Arsenal-1 complex from blueprints to battle tech, telling local officials on Thursday that it will start producing its Fury autonomous combat aircraft in Pickaway County by the end of March. The 5-million-square-foot manufacturing campus, pitched last year as a near-Columbus industrial megasite, comes with the promise of thousands of jobs and billions in regional economic activity. That mix of money and missiles has already divided locals, with business leaders eyeing payroll gains while activists worry about a weapons plant in rural Ohio.
According to WSYX/ABC6, Anduril says Fury production will begin "by the end of the month" at the Arsenal-1 site near Rickenbacker International Airport. The station’s crew toured the property on Thursday and reported that the facility, first announced in January 2025, is now shifting into early production phases.
Jobs and incentives
JobsOhio records show the state is backing Arsenal-1 with roughly $310 million in incentives. In return, Anduril has pledged to create about 4,008 jobs at the site by 2035. JobsOhio materials project that those positions will pay well above the regional average and say the project is expected to deliver substantial payroll and tax revenue to central Ohio.
Production plans and the Fury
Speaking with Axios, Anduril founder Palmer Luckey said the first production lines at Arsenal-1 will be up and running "in a matter of weeks" and confirmed that Fury will be the plant’s initial product. Aviation Week reported that the company is already testing a production system with a Fury mockup inside Building 1, indicating Anduril is running early trials ahead of any large-scale output.
Local reaction and concerns
Reaction around central Ohio has been split. Public officials have praised the expected payroll and investment, while activists staged protests last year opposing weapons manufacturing near Rickenbacker, as reported by The Columbus Dispatch via Yahoo. When the project was first unveiled, state leaders framed Arsenal-1 as a major economic victory, according to the Associated Press, setting the political stage for the plant’s first real production run.
Timeline and what to watch
Anduril has already assembled an initial "Fury launch team" and says Building 1 is coming online as crews install production lines, according to updates reviewed by Columbus Underground. Over the next several months, the key questions will be how quickly the company ramps up hiring, whether it hits the benchmarks tied to state incentives, and if local permits or environmental reviews shape the pace of a broader expansion.
For central Ohio, the shift from logistics and distribution to high-tech defense manufacturing is no longer an abstract talking point. Arsenal-1 is moving from renderings to reality, a change that is expected to ripple through hiring, supply chains and local politics in Pickaway County for years to come. Reporters and public officials say they will be watching permits, workforce announcements and any community fallout as Fury production scales up.
