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Home|About|News & Insights |Defense Manufacturing Wave: Seven U.S. Projects, $15.2 Billion Disclosed

Defense Manufacturing Wave: Seven U.S. Projects, $15.2 Billion Disclosed

November 3, 2026
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Westside Construction Group
Automated Hadrian machining cell supporting Lockheed Martin munitions production | Westside Construction Group
Automated Hadrian machining cell supporting Lockheed Martin munitions production | Westside Construction Group

U.S. defense manufacturing construction picked up sharply between late September and October 28, 2026: seven new or expanded plants and shipyards were announced, started or opened, and the six with disclosed values add up to $15.2 billion. The list runs from a $6.6 billion submarine component shipyard in Maryland to a $115 million munitions plant in northern Michigan.

Two of the projects are new shipyards, one is a final assembly building for the B-21 bomber, and the rest are factories for missiles, munitions, flight controls and space hardware. Taken together, they show money that Washington and the prime contractors have promised now turning into site work, steel and equipment orders.

Defense Manufacturing Projects at a Glance

  • Arsenal-2 submarine component shipyard: Anduril Industries with the U.S. Navy; contractor not named; Sparrows Point, Baltimore County, Maryland; $6.6 billion; announced October 6, 2026, site preparation starting, operations targeted for 2030 (Manufacturing Dive).
  • B-21 final assembly facility, Air Force Plant 42: U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman; Palmdale, California; $4.5 billion; groundbreaking announced October 8, 2026 (Construction Dive).
  • Port Alpha shipyard: Saronic; JE Dunn | Alberici joint venture, with Stantec and KPFF on design; Port of Brownsville, Texas; $3.2 billion per the contractor, more than $3 billion per Saronic; groundbreaking September 30, 2026 (Alberici).
  • Tempe manufacturing facility: Honeywell Aerospace; contractor not named; Tempe, Arizona; $500 million; announced October 28, 2026, opening late 2028 (Honeywell Aerospace via PR Newswire).
  • Grand Prairie munitions expansion: Lockheed Martin; contractor not named, with Hadrian supplying an automated machining cell; Grand Prairie, Texas; $300 million; announced October 14, 2026 (Lockheed Martin).
  • Grayling munitions plant: Saab Inc.; contractor not named; Grayling, Michigan; more than $115 million; soft opening October 27, 2026, production target May 2027 (9&10 News).
  • Weld County space hardware plant: BAE Systems; contractor not named; Weld County, Colorado; value not disclosed; building purchased October 2026, production expected early 2028 (BAE Systems).

How the $15.2 Billion Total Was Calculated

The combined figure adds the six disclosed project values: $6.6 billion for Arsenal-2, $4.5 billion for the B-21 facility, $3.2 billion for Port Alpha, $500 million for Honeywell in Tempe, $300 million for Lockheed Martin in Grand Prairie and $115 million for Saab in Grayling. That sums to $15.215 billion, rounded to $15.2 billion. The BAE Systems plant is excluded because the company did not disclose an investment figure. Saronic’s own release describes Port Alpha as more than $3 billion of private capital (Saronic via PR Newswire); using that figure instead of the contractor’s $3.2 billion would put the total at about $15.0 billion. Saab’s figure is reported as more than $115 million, so the total is a floor rather than a ceiling.

Shipyards: Arsenal-2 and Port Alpha

Anduril and the Navy announced Arsenal-2 on October 6: about 2 million square feet of manufacturing space on 187 acres at Tradepoint Atlantic, built to produce components and large assemblies for Virginia-class submarines (ConstructConnect). Anduril is putting in $3.7 billion and a Navy contract covers the remaining $2.9 billion, with payments tied to production outcomes (Manufacturing Dive). Permitting and site preparation begin immediately, construction follows the required approvals, and initial operations are targeted for 2030, with more than 3,100 direct jobs (ConstructConnect). No general contractor or design firm has been named. See our earlier coverage of the Arsenal-2 announcement.

In Brownsville, Saronic broke ground on Port Alpha on September 30. The first phase covers 835 acres, with an option to grow to nearly 4,400 acres, and includes 1.2 million square feet of enclosed production space, 8 to 10 production buildings and more than 2,500 feet of deepwater quay (Saronic via PR Newswire). The JE Dunn | Alberici joint venture is delivering the work under progressive design-build, with Stantec and KPFF as design partners (Alberici). Saronic says the yard will open with 150,000 gross tons of annual capacity and could employ up to 10,000 people over the next decade (Saronic via PR Newswire). Our project post is here.

Aircraft: B-21 Final Assembly at Plant 42

The Air Force and Northrop Grumman have started a final assembly facility of more than 1 million square feet at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, backed by $4.5 billion (Construction Dive). Military Times reports the funding comes from fiscal 2025 reconciliation legislation and that the expansion is meant to raise annual B-21 production capacity by 25 percent (Military Times). Neither report names a general contractor or completion date. Background is in our B-21 Plant 42 post.

Missiles, Munitions and Components

Lockheed Martin said on October 14 that it is investing $300 million at its Grand Prairie plant, adding 100,000 square feet of new space and converting 85,000 square feet of offices to manufacturing. The site supplies parts for PAC-3 MSE, THAAD, PrSM and JATM, and Hadrian will install a 24-machine automated cell expected to run in early 2027 (Lockheed Martin). The company tied the project to a plan to invest $8 billion to $9 billion across more than 20 U.S. facilities through 2030 (Lockheed Martin). Read our Grand Prairie coverage.

Honeywell Aerospace announced a $500 million, 300,000 square foot plant on its Tempe campus on October 28. It will serve commercial aviation programs and add capacity for priority defense production under a supplier framework agreement with the Department of War. The plant is due to open in late 2028 with about 600 permanent jobs and more than 1,000 construction jobs (Honeywell Aerospace via PR Newswire). More in our Honeywell Tempe post.

Saab held a soft opening on October 27 for its munitions plant beside Camp Grayling, a project of more than $115 million. The first phase covers 65 acres of a 445-acre site and will assemble, integrate and test 84 mm shoulder-fired weapons and precision strike systems, with production lines expected to run in May 2027 (9&10 News). Spectrum News reports the same investment figure and spring 2027 official opening (Spectrum News).

Space Hardware: BAE Systems in Weld County

BAE Systems closed on a 130,000 square foot building on about 13 acres in Weld County, Colorado, and will retrofit it for space hardware and sensor systems. Retrofit and equipment purchasing run through the rest of 2026, production is expected in early 2028, and the site could employ about 600 people at full capacity. The company did not disclose the investment (BAE Systems). See our Weld County post.

What Is Driving the Defense Manufacturing Wave

The sources point to three forces. First, federal money is arriving in forms that pay for buildings: reconciliation funds for the B-21 line (Military Times) and a production-linked Navy contract for Arsenal-2 (Manufacturing Dive). Second, the primes are expanding capacity under multiyear plans, such as Lockheed Martin’s $8 billion to $9 billion program (Lockheed Martin) and Honeywell’s supplier framework agreement (Honeywell Aerospace via PR Newswire). Third, newer defense firms with private capital, Anduril and Saronic, are building at a scale that used to belong only to established shipbuilders (Saronic via PR Newswire). These projects sit alongside the separate solid rocket motor build-out we track in our solid rocket motor roundup.

Implications for Owners, Developers, Contractors and Subs

These are heavy industrial jobs with long, phased schedules. Port Alpha uses progressive design-build with overlapping design, procurement and construction (Alberici), and Arsenal-2 still has permitting ahead of it (ConstructConnect). Contractors pursuing this work are likely to face security requirements, owner-furnished process equipment and tight coordination with tooling suppliers such as Hadrian at Grand Prairie (Lockheed Martin). Several projects are retrofits or conversions rather than greenfield builds, including the office conversion in Grand Prairie and the BAE building, which favors firms with interior industrial and MEP retrofit experience. Labor is the constraint to watch: Saronic’s release cites a national shortfall of roughly 250,000 skilled shipbuilding workers (Saronic via PR Newswire).

What to Watch

Bottom Line

In about five weeks, seven defense manufacturing projects moved forward across six states, and the six with published values total $15.2 billion. Most of that sits in two shipyards and one bomber plant, but the smaller munitions and component plants are the more typical opportunity for regional industrial builders and specialty trades.

Key Questions

How much defense manufacturing construction was announced in fall 2026?

Between late September and October 28, 2026, seven U.S. defense manufacturing projects were announced, started or opened, and the six with disclosed values total $15.2 billion: Arsenal-2, the B-21 Plant 42 facility, Port Alpha, Honeywell Tempe, Lockheed Martin Grand Prairie and Saab Grayling (Manufacturing Dive).

What is the largest new defense manufacturing project?

Anduril’s Arsenal-2 submarine component shipyard at Sparrows Point, Maryland is the largest at $6.6 billion, with Anduril investing $3.7 billion and a Navy contract covering $2.9 billion (Manufacturing Dive).

Who is building the Saronic Port Alpha shipyard?

A JE Dunn | Alberici joint venture is building Saronic’s Port Alpha in Brownsville, Texas under progressive design-build, with Stantec and KPFF as design partners, on a project the contractor values at $3.2 billion (Alberici).

When will the new defense plants open?

Saab’s Grayling munitions plant targets production in May 2027, BAE Systems’ Weld County plant in early 2028, Honeywell’s $500 million Tempe plant in late 2028 and Arsenal-2 in 2030 (BAE Systems).

Image credit: Lockheed Martin, via PR Newswire. Automated Hadrian machining cell supporting Lockheed Martin munitions production.

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