Governor Abigail Spanberger and secretary of commerce and trade Carrie Chenery were in Orange County Wednesday morning to help announce a $1.2 billion business expansion project.
L3Harris Technologies, a major defense contractor which delivers end-to-end technology solutions connecting space, air, land, sea and cyber domains, is expanding its solid rocket motor production capacity at its Orange County site. The company acquired the Aerojet Rocketdyne facility in 2023 and announced a major expansion in 2024. That expansion was to equip the facility to build solid rocket motors used to power Javelin and Stinger missiles. Construction on that project is ongoing.
This newly announced expansion will capitalize on the 2024 project, creating 350 new jobs, nearly doubling the company’s local workforce, and enabling it to go from creating hundreds of rocket motors per year to having the ability to produce thousands.
The majority of the $1.2 billion expansion will occur at the current 256,000 sq. ft. facility located near Unionville, but also lays the groundwork for a multi-billion project and creates the Virginia Advanced Propulsion Facilities to continue to support the defense needs of the nation. The VAPF will include various facilities throughout the state. L3Harris already plays an integral part in the state’s economy, purchasing $145 million in goods and services from its Virginia partners since 2021. The company also recently had the distinct honor of providing more than 100 mission-critical components for the Artemis II mission. Those components were created in Orange County. The four person Artemis crew successfully completed a lunar flyby mission and marked the first crewed journey toward the moon in more than 50 years.
Julie Wikete, site director of the L3Harris Orange County facility, said participating in the mission was a point of pride for the company.
The newly announced expansion is made possible through approximately $17 million in grants to the county from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund (COF) and the General Assembly’s Major Employment Investment Project Approval Commission. Local matches for COF grants are based on the company’s investment and can be in-kind contributions such as infrastructure development, fee waivers or free or reduced-price land or buildings.
Wikete said choosing to expand in Orange County was also about the county itself and the skilled workers who reside here. Vice president Mark Farley agreed.
“We’re proud to work with Virginia,” he said. “Orange County is home to some of the most dedicated and highly skilled individuals in aerospace technology.”
Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman and District 5 Representative Bryan Nicol said the project represents the largest economic development expansion in the county’s history.
“This is a transformational announcement that will benefit Orange County for decades,” he said. “L3Harris has been an important, long-time member of our business community–making their growth and continued investment here particularly gratifying.”
Governor Spanberger said the expansion represents a vote of confidence in both Orange County and Virginia.
“L3Harris exemplifies the kind of partnership that builds the future of Virginia and we look forward to celebrating this investment for years to come,” she said. “There’s a lot of uncertainty in the world right now, as businesses are trying to plan into the future, Virginia offers an environment of stability and predictability.”
Wikete said work on the expansion will begin this year and likely take five years to complete. The company is already hiring for new jobs and will host a career fair at the Daniel Technology Center, 18121 Technology Drive, Culpeper, on Wednesday, May 13 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, visit https://careers.l3harris.com/en/job/orange/l3harris-engineering-and-technician-career-fair-culpeper-va/4832/93782747008
