Anduril CEO Says Company Would 'Absolutely' Build Weapons Hub Outside US

Anduril Industries CEO Brian Schimpf stated the company would "absolutely" consider building its next weapons manufacturing hub outside the United States. Schimpf made the comments to Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait at Founders Forum in the UK, adding that "there's a lot of manufacturing" potential abroad. The remarks signal a notable shift in posture for one of the world's most valuable defense-tech startups, which has until now focused its manufacturing buildout domestically.

The statement comes as Anduril scales its production capabilities through a software-based manufacturing model it calls Arsenal. While the company's first facility is already under construction in Ohio, Schimpf's comments suggest future expansion may not be bound by US borders. For a firm deeply embedded in Pentagon autonomous systems programs, overseas production raises questions about export controls, technology transfer, and alliance politics.

Anduril's first manufacturing hub, Arsenal-1, is being built in Columbus, Ohio, the company announced in January 2025. The facility represents a $1.5 billion investment and embodies Anduril's bet on software-enabled, hyperscale production for autonomous defense systems. The Ohio location was selected with state partnership support, including involvement from Governor Mike DeWine's administration, which framed the project as part of efforts to "rebuild the arsenal" for essential national security needs.

The Arsenal concept departs from traditional defense manufacturing. Anduril describes it as a software-based approach designed to overcome what it sees as the incumbent defense industrial base's inability to build technology at the speed and scale modern warfare demands. The Columbus facility will produce systems including the Fury aircraft, one of two platforms selected for the first increment of the Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.

Schimpf's openness to overseas production reflects practical business pressures facing rapidly scaling defense companies. Building closer to international customers could reduce logistics costs, simplify export compliance for certain systems, and accelerate delivery timelines for allied nations seeking autonomous weapons platforms. The UK event where Schimpf spoke suggests European markets may be early targets for any international expansion.

The move also aligns with broader geopolitical trends. NATO allies have increased defense spending, and demand for autonomous systems is surging across European and Indo-Pacific theaters. A non-US hub could help Anduril navigate International Traffic in Arms Regulations constraints and position the company as a local supplier rather than an American exporter. However, this strategy carries risk: US defense contracts often require domestic production, and sensitive technologies may face congressional restrictions on offshore manufacturing.

Anduril's manufacturing expansion, whether domestic or international, directly challenges established primes like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon. The company's pitch centers on speed: software-defined production lines that can iterate faster than traditional hardware-centric facilities. By potentially placing manufacturing closer to foreign customers, Anduril could undercut incumbents on delivery timelines, a persistent pain point in allied defense procurement.

The strategy also leverages Anduril's private status. Unlike publicly traded competitors, Anduril can make long-term capital commitments without quarterly earnings pressure. Its $1.5 billion Arsenal-1 investment, funded partly through private capital, demonstrates this flexibility. Whether investors would support comparable overseas spending depends on contract pipelines, but Schimpf's confidence suggests the company sees viable paths to return on international facilities.

Anduril's comments will likely trigger scrutiny from US lawmakers concerned with keeping defense manufacturing onshore. The company will need to balance international growth ambitions with maintaining its Pentagon relationships and classified program access. Specific locations for any overseas hub remain unannounced, and Schimpf gave no timeline for such expansion.

The broader defense industry will watch closely. If Anduril successfully builds weapons abroad while retaining US market share, other tech-forward defense startups may follow. This could fragment what has historically been a domestically concentrated industrial base. Conversely, regulatory or political barriers could force Anduril to keep its Arsenal network primarily American, limiting the strategic impact of Schimpf's stated openness.

Anduril was founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey, Trae Stephens, Matt Grimm, Joe Chen, and Brian Schimpf, with headquarters in Costa Mesa, California. From its inception, the company has positioned itself as a disruptive force against what it calls a broken defense procurement system. Its "Rebuild the Arsenal" manifesto argues that incumbent contractors cannot deliver the technology America needs, advocating instead for software-enabled, rapidly scalable manufacturing.

This ideological commitment to industrial base reform underpins both the Ohio facility and any future international expansion. For Anduril, manufacturing location is secondary to manufacturing philosophy. The company's willingness to look beyond US borders for its next hub reflects confidence that its production model can transplant successfully, and that global demand for autonomous defense systems justifies global supply chains. Whether that confidence translates into actual foreign facilities depends on contracts, capital, and the political winds in Washington.