Anduril Industries, one of the leading defense companies in Southern California, will expand in Long Beach with a new $1-billion complex near the city\u2019s airport.<\/p>\n
Anduril is developing new defense technologies that include drones, missiles, robotic submarines, and autonomous fighter jets. The Long Beach operation will include offices for designer engineers and coders, along with lab space and prototype manufacturing facilities, the company said Thursday.<\/p>\n
The new facility will be built at Douglas Park, an industrial park just north of Long Beach Airport with a history of aerospace manufacturing. Anduril has leased more than 1 million square feet of land from real estate developer Sares Regis Group, which will build the new campus. <\/p>\n
Construction will begin by the middle of the year, Anduril co-founder Matt Grimm said, and the first building in the complex will open by the end of 2027. <\/p>\n
The campus will span approximately 1.18 million square feet across six buildings, combining 750,000 square feet of office space with 435,000 square feet of industrial space dedicated to research and development.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we look at the next five to 10 years of growth for the company, we\u2019re going to be embarking on a whole bunch of new programs,\u201d Grimm said. \u201cThat means we\u2019re going to need to hire people.\u201d<\/p>\n
While many businesses have complained about the high level of taxes and regulations in the state and threatened to move, most find they need to stay because of its hard-to-beat network of companies and deep pool of experienced defense workers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe talent exists around Long Beach and the neighboring communities of folks who are just world-class experts in the aerospace sectors is truly, truly remarkable,\u201d Grimm said.<\/p>\n
Of course, that doesn\u2019t mean everyone at the company is happy about everything that happens in the state. The company\u2019s outspoken, billionaire co-founder, Luckey Palmer, recently joined the debate about a proposed new tax on billionaires. <\/p>\n
The tax proposal, which still needs to gather enough signatures before it can even get on the ballot for a vote in November, is flawed, Palmer said, because it would give company founders huge tax bills they could not afford to pay. <\/p>\n