COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Columbus Regional Airport Authority is planning to expand Rickenbacker Airport to support defense manufacturer Anduril’s project next door.
Using public and private funding, the airport authority plans to construct aircraft hangers, a taxiway and aircraft ramps. According to permit filings, the project will support flight trials for autonomous drones and vehicles, which Anduril plans to start making in July 2026.
Construction is underway at Anduril’s Pickaway County facility, Arsenal-1. The facility will create 4,000 jobs and intends to “rebuild the arsenal” by supplying weapons to the U.S. and its allies. See previous coverage of Arsenal-1 in the video player above.
The first phase of the airport expansion, called the Arsenal-1 Airside Project, plans to build six hangers and six loading zones east of Rickenbacker runway 05R, state filings show. The plans call for a new road and taxiway, as well as aircraft bays, office spaces and parking.
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Arsenal 1 Airside Project (courtesy photo / EPA filings) -
Arsenal 1 Airside Project (courtesy photo / EPA filings)
Breann Gonzalez Almos, communications and media relations manager for the airport authority, said the project will connect the airport’s current runway to future Anduril facilities.
The state’s taxpayer-funded All Ohio Future Fund is supplying $70 million for the airport expansion. Almos said the Pickaway Progress Partnership, a nonprofit group that collects and distributes public and private investments, is also contributing grant funding.
Anduril selected the site adjacent to Rickenbacker in January, choosing Ohio over locations including Arizona and Texas because of Ohio’s established airspaces, many universities and economic incentives provided by the state. The Arsenal-1 Airside Project was announced after Anduril’s project but is another example of state funding to support the facility.
“The purpose of the project is to construct a facility capable of supporting manufacturing needs of the U.S. military and of ally nations,” permit submissions read. “Production is urgently desired to support services essential to maintaining national security.”
Filings show the Columbus Regional Airport Authority hopes to complete construction by June 30, right before Anduril hopes to start manufacturing.
