Anduril Industries, the rapidly growing military systems supplier, has affirmed its “commitment to the defense of Taiwan,” which is under nearly constant threat from China.
It’s another high-profile move by Anduril, co-founded by entrepreneur Palmer Luckey and ranked No. 2 on this year’s Business Journal list of top defense and aerospace companies in Orange County by headcount. Anduril’s OC headcount grew 78% to 3,200, good for the No. 2 spot and up from No. 9 a year ago. Companywide, its headcount doubled to 6,000.
“Anduril is committed to supporting Taiwan and our allies across the Indo-Pacific with the technology they need to deter aggression and preserve stability,” Luckey said in a visit to the island last week.
Anduril, which began in 2017, recently received a $30.5 billion valuation, double that of a year ago. Its latest round in June raised a reported $2.5 billion.
The Business Journal’s annual list of aerospace and defense contractors highlights 26 companies.
The list shows that these industries are becoming hot in Orange County. Cumulatively, their OC employment climbed 8.4% to 22,589 while companywide, their employment grew less than 1% to 603,694.
The local growth is not surprising. Thomas O’Leary, the CEO of jetliner startup JetZero in Long Beach, says Southern California—from the San Fernando Valley to San Clemente—is “the most vibrant aerospace and defense market in the U.S. in terms of new companies and innovation.” (see article, page 1)
Parker Up 50%
Parker Aerospace in Irvine, which makes parts and components for military and civilian aircraft, grew its headcount by 50% to 1,865, taking fourth place in the Business Journal ranking.
“Across the board the aerospace industry has been very healthy and accelerating over the last year,” Parker Aerospace Vice President Barry Draskovich told the Business Journal (see story page 1).
Huntington Beach-based Karman Space & Defense, which makes components for military and aerospace systems, is a newcomer to this year’s list, as its local headcount jumped 32% to 516 for 11th place.
Dzyne, a military drone maker and tech company with its main manufacturing site in Irvine, clocked in at No. 17 with 150 local employees.
“A key milestone has been our expansion into a new 125,000-square-foot facility in Irvine’s Spectrum area, which serves as our primary hub for research, development, engineering, and manufacturing,” CEO Matt McCue told the Business Journal.
Slower Growth at Older Companies
Traditional older contractors reported slower growth.
The Business Journal list shows the Boeing Co. in Seal Beach as the largest defense and aerospace company in OC with an estimated 5,306 local employees, up less than 1%.
Boeing had several dozen jobs posted for its OC sites as of last week, including modeling design engineer, navigation manager, crane operator and senior computing architect.
RTX Corp. (formerly Raytheon) in Fullerton came in at No. 3 with an estimated 2,000 OC employees, similar to a year ago. RTX is looking to fill positions including business systems and transformation developer as well as senior analyst.
Airplane cabin specialist Safran, whose parent company is located in Paris, trimmed its workforce by almost 12% to 1,517. The headquarters for Safran Cabin will be relocated to a new site in Costa Mesa this summer, as the lease for the current location in Huntington Beach expires (see story, page 18).
Virgin Galactic, Ducommun
Other local companies on the list include:
• Space tourism company Virgin Galactic in Tustin slid to an estimated 142 OC employees from an estimated 150.
• Costa Mesa-based aircraft parts maker Ducommun increased 15% to 125 employees.
• Marvin Test Solutions in Irvine increased its headcount by 5% to 124.
• Flying taxi developer Overair in Santa Ana lost its CEO in January and a successor was not announced. The company has ceased normal business operations and has been dropped from the Business Journal Rankings. It was No. 18 last year with 140 employees.
