Maker of unmanned aircraft selects NWA for factory site
Swarm Aero of Oxnard, Calif., will open an “advanced, high-volume” manufacturing site for crewless military aircraft in Northwest Arkansas, the company announced.
“It turns out there’s not a lot of places where there’s both an airport and space there to build a significant factory,” said Danny Goodman, co-founder and chief executive of the company. Swarm Aero is still in negotiations for a final site, he and Chief Operating Officer Oliver Palmer said in an interview Thursday, but the company has definitely settled on Northwest Arkansas as the location for the new manufacturing plant.
The company scouted 20 different locations across the United States, according to its announcement, scheduled for release today. The company has a small office in Rogers and based its search for an Arkansas location from there.
“Rogers was the perfect place for us,” Goodman said in the company’s announcement. “The facilities were great, the community was welcoming, and we felt very much wanted here.”
Details such as the initial amount being invested, numbers employed and rates of pay will come later, Palmer said. Any information about the company’s plans will have to come from the company, said a spokesman for the Rogers-Lowell Chamber of Commerce. Palmer and Goodman confirmed the company is starting a new operation here, not relocating operations.
The company designs and builds “uncrewed aerial vehicles” or UAVs, designed to overwhelm enemy defenses through both sheer numbers and intelligent, human-directed use with the assistance of artificial intelligence, according to Palmer.
“There’s always a human in the loop” in the use of these aircraft, he said.
The company makes aircraft larger and more capable than those usually described as drones, he and Goodman said.
Another major factor in choosing Northwest Arkansas was the talent of the local workforce, according to Goodman. Manufacturing the company’s aircraft requires eight different skill sets, and the needed skilled workers are available here, he said.
The region also boasts “a fantastic balance,” Goodman said, of commercial factors such as room for a factory and workforce skills with an affordable cost of living. Both Palmer and Goodman praised the cooperation and knowledge base of local government and representatives.
“I thank Congressman Steve Womack for listening to our story and making the introductions that made this possible,” Goodman said in his statement. “He has an encyclopedic knowledge of his district.” The region’s business environment is also excellent, they said.
Swarm Aero is also aware of the selection of Fort Smith as a training site for the F-35 fighter aircraft, Goodman said. These aviation centers being close by each other will help develop the relevant skills of the region, he said.
“I’m proud to welcome Swarm Aero to Arkansas,” Womack said in a statement Thursday. “I can’t say I’m surprised by their decision. Northwest Arkansas has an excellent workforce, quality airspace, and abundant business opportunities. Swarm Aero will be a game-changer for the country’s defense capabilities while further enhancing Arkansas’ role in bolstering America’s national security.”
Residents do not have to worry about swarms of aircraft buzzing about at low altitude; the aircraft the company makes are high-altitude models, Goodman said. Also, commercial use for Swarm Aero’s designs is a possibility, but not an immediate plan, the two executives said. The choice of location has nothing to do with, for instance, the decision of Walmart Stores Inc. to develop drone delivery options, they said.
Goodman authored an Oct. 30 article describing the thinking behind the use of his company’s aircraft, published on quiet.com. An “affordable mass of AI-operated autonomous vehicles can get us to risky places we can’t go otherwise and can represent an unprecedented show of force in areas critical to our current and future military defense,” the article states.