Samantha Wildow
Journal-News, Hamilton, Ohio
(TNS)

The CEO of Electra, the aerospace company planning to bring nearly 2,000 jobs to Springfield, held up a coin on the Farnborough International Airshow stage in England after the announcement about its new factory.

“I didn’t tell (Gov. Mike DeWine) that this decision was actually going to come down to a coin flip,” said CEO Marc Allen. “ … So since we haven’t fully signed all the details, I brought a coin. I’ll let the governor flip it.”

The coin in question, though, featured the state of Ohio on both sides, making the state a winner either way.

DeWine’s team gave the coin to Allen about six months ago, he said.

“I’ve been holding on to it to this day,” Allen said. “ … We’re delighted to be part of Ohio.”

Electra’s $850 million investment is the latest sign that southwest Ohio is becoming a hub for the next generation of aerospace manufacturing, as companies tied to commercial aviation, advanced air mobility and defense increasingly choose the Dayton region.

With the close proximity to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base — as well as the colleges and universities available to train technicians, engineers and pilots — aerospace manufacturers are betting big on the area.

“Dayton, Ohio, has become the epicenter of the defense and aerospace manufacturing resurgence that we’re seeing over the last six and seven years,” said Jeff Hoagland, president and CEO of the Dayton Development Coalition.

Electra, which is headquartered in Virginia, is planning a production plant at Springfield’s AirPark Ohio, creating upwards of 1,975 jobs over the next decade.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

The Dayton Development Coalition expects Electra’s investment and job plans will generate significant economic benefits across the region. Higher household incomes will increase spending in the community, while the project will create additional jobs through construction, suppliers, logistics and other supporting industries.

This is on top of the 2,000 jobs that Joby Aviation has committed to the region through its expansion at its 700,000-square-foot facility off Capstone Way in Vandalia. There, Joby is preparing what will be its chief area production site.

Sierra Nevada Corporation has invested close to $100 million into its Dayton presence in the past four years, the company has said. Since 2022, Sierra Nevada has built four massive hangars at the Dayton International Airport, each roughly 100,000 square feet, big enough to protect some of the military’s biggest airplanes.

GE Aerospace and CTL Aerospace in West Chester Twp. also have landed giant contracts.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is one of the main reasons aerospace companies are attracted to the area.

“We have the sites. We have the workforce. We have the quality of life. But we also have Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,” Hoagland said.

With the base comes access to companies’ customers within the defense department, like the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center.

“One of our biggest priorities and strategies was to grow (the base),” said Hoagland, referring to the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission. “In that 2005 BRAC, we were a winner.”

The base had about 19,000 employees working on the base at that time, Hoagland said.

Due to the BRAC, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base received a number of missions, which increased the number of people working on base to the current figure of about 38,000, according to the Dayton Development Coalition.

Looking ahead, defense spending also is going up. The U.S. Department of Defense requested nearly $1.5 trillion for its 2027 fiscal year budget, and companies in this region that regularly contract with the government will likely see some of those dollars.

“It’s an unstable world, so there’s an awful lot of investment coming into the Defense Industrial Base, more than there has been in quite some time, and I think the pre-existing advantages that Ohio had have allowed it to really position itself very well,” said Greg Lawson, a senior research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, a think tank focused on advancing free-market public policy.

The Defense Industrial Base refers to the network of public and private organizations that design, build and maintain military weapons systems, equipment and supplies.

The defense department requested more $100 billion for the Defense Industrial Base, according to its budget documents. Of that, nearly $54 billion is slated for “Drone Dominance,” which is a sector that Springfield has become known for after the BRAC.

The drone funds the defense department requested include:

• $39.2 billion for a multi-year investment in autonomous systems procurement, domestic production capacity and advanced capabilities
• $14.4 billion for counter-unmanned systems development and deployment

The defense network in the region includes the base, as well as the Defense Supply Center in Columbus. Ohio also has Anduril Industries in Columbus, which Lawson said is already starting to produce weapons systems. Anduril is an autonomous systems and weapons manufacturer.

DAYTON DAILY NEWS COVERAGE

How aerospace manufacturing is changing this region

Artist's rendering of Electra’s first EL9 Ultra Short aircraft production plant in Springfield.

Here are some highlights of our reporting on this issue.

• » Needs for the Air Force draws 2,000+ to downtown Dayton for conference
• » Electra: What to know about company bringing nearly 2,000 jobs to region
• » Dayton expansion plans continue as Joby faces federal investigation
• » How Joby is building its air taxi company in Dayton with workers who are ‘production heroes’
• » What GE Aerospace Foundation’s multi-million dollar workforce training means for Dayton area
•  » A century of aerospace and defense growth places Dayton near the top in new ranking

From fighter jets to drones

The 2005 BRAC led to manned fighter jet operations being phased out at the Springfield Air National Guard Base in Ohio. It is co-located at the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport, which is owned by the city of Springfield.

After the BRAC, partners in the region, including the state of Ohio, the Dayton Development Coalition and the Air Force Research Lab, started exploring unmanned air systems, or drones, Hoagland said.

“It was an unmanned air system strategy that we put in place, and one of our biggest partners was the city of Springfield and the Springfield-Beckley Airport because they were very close in proximity to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,” Hoagland said.

Since then, Springfield has become a national hub for unmanned aircraft systems and advanced air mobility, centered primarily at the airport. Its signature assets include the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence and the Ohio Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Center.

NAAMCE provides advanced air mobility companies with the nation’s only integrated build-test-fly ecosystem with National Airspace access up to 18,000 feet, according to NAAMCE’s website. Teams build components, integrate flight systems and conduct long-duration operations beyond the visual line of sight of the remote pilot.

Both Sinclair Community College in Dayton and Clark State Community College in Springfield also are part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Collegiate Training Initiative, which recognizes institutions that prepare students for careers in drones.

‘We also had the land’

Another draw of the region was having a site where a company could move into quickly.

“We had the infrastructure in place from a technology standpoint. We had the partners in place with the city of Springfield, with the state, with the Air Force Research Lab. We also had the land,” said Hoagland, referring to the space at Springfield’s AirPark Ohio where Electra plans to build its new production facility.

Having land available that has the environmental clearances and necessary infrastructure in place to begin construction right away, also called shovel-ready land, is critical, Hoagland said.

“It’s a very strategic process to go through because as we’re seeing, especially post-COVID, the speed that these companies need to get started and get opened and then start producing their product and then shipping it out is faster than it’s ever been,” Hoagland said.

A site selection process eventually led Electra to the shovel-ready site in Springfield, Hoagland said.

Building the workforce

In addition to large companies like Joby, Sierra Nevada, GE Aerospace and Electra, the Dayton Development Coalition anticipates there will be smaller businesses that pop up after this to either support those companies or to be near aerospace innovation.

Finding the employees to fill the jobs is the region’s next task.

“I know that’s something that the business community, education, especially the higher education community, is really trying to zero in on,” Lawson said. “ … How do we get a pipeline of workers — that get the right kind of backgrounds, credentials — get them up and into that workforce as quickly as possible.”

While Ohio’s unemployment rate is lower than the national average — 3.6% compared to 4.2%, respectively, according to the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services — fewer people also are participating in the job market.

In June 2026, the labor force participation rate in Ohio was 61.6%, down from 61.8% in May 2026 and down from 62.5% in June 2025, according to the state.

During the same period, the national labor force participation rate was 61.5%, down from 61.8% in May 2026 and down from 62.3% in June 2025.

Creating a workforce pipeline

Area colleges and universities are working with employers on creating these pipelines. Not every aerospace manufacturing job will require a four-year degree, so colleges also are offering short-term certificates and other shorter programs for high school graduates who want to enter the workforce sooner, as well as for other adults looking for a career change.

For those interested in the aerospace field, colleges say now is the time to start exploring.

“If somebody has not been in the traditional aviation or aerospace industry, or maybe they’ve not even been in the advanced air mobility or unmanned aerial system industries yet, starting some exploratory classes or beginning a program now is perfect timing,” said Andrew Shepherd, chief research officer at Sinclair Community College.

In addition to academic programs, Sinclair is working with companies to create customized workforce training solutions, Shepherd said. One example is the SNC-Sinclair Academy, an aviation workforce program co-designed with Sierra Nevada Corporation.

The partnership aims to create a sustainable stream of production-ready aerospace and aviation maintenance technicians to support maintenance, repair and overhaul, according to Sinclair. The program includes a direct hiring pathway for graduates who meet Sierra Nevada’s readiness standards.

“The gap in skilled technicians is a big hurdle, which is why this partnership is so important,” Mark C. Williams, Sierra Nevada Corporation senior vice president and Dayton site executive, said in a press release. “We’re working with Sinclair to make sure these technicians walk through our doors already knowing our systems inside and out. They won’t just have a degree; they’ll be ready to hit the floor running on Day One.”

With support from higher education, the types of jobs being created in the region and the Air Force retirees who settle in the area, these large aerospace companies are confident they will find the workers they need, according to the Dayton Development Coalition.

“We truly believe this, and we’ve heard Sierra Nevada talk about it. We’ve heard Joby talk about it, and we heard Electra talk about how they’re not worried about the workforce,” Hoagland said. “They think it’s going to actually attract more people to Ohio and to Dayton, which is going to raise the opportunities for them to hire really qualified people.”

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