Thomas Global Systems has doubled the size of its Irvine manufacturing plant, which makes an array of aerospace and defense products.
The Irvine-based company now covers about 20,000 square feet at 13844 Alton Parkway in Irvine, the company’s business development director Kyle Stockman told the Business Journal on March 19. The opening of the expanded site coincided with the Australian parent company’s 70th anniversary.
Thomas is one of a growing number of companies providing a resurgence in Orange County’s defense sector.
They include Anduril Industries, Mach Industries and Karman Space & Defense as well as long-established companies such as Ducommun and Parker Aerospace.
United Displays, Apache Keyboards
While Thomas’ U.S. engineering and manufacturing facility in Irvine is much smaller than many other firms in the sector, the company is producing some major components for commercial aircraft and the military. Stockman says they include:
• Cockpit displays for commercial airlines including United and Delta
• Keyboard units and flight displays for AH-64 Apache attack helicopters made by Boeing
• ‘Biocular’ systems for the M2/M3 Bradley Fighting Vehicles
• Critical hardware assemblies for the Integrated Battle Command System for Northrop Grumman as part of the Golden Dome for America initiative
• Rotary wing modernization work for Lockheed Martin helicopters
• A full-size deployable training simulator for the U.S. Army’s M1A2 Abrams tank crews, built into a 20-foot container. “It’s the next best thing to actually being in the tank itself,” says Stockman.
Increasing to 90 Employees
Thomas Global’s OC workforce is scheduled to increase from the current 70 to 90 employees by the end of the year, Stockman says.
The U.S. small business subsidiary doubled its annual revenue to more than $30 million in 2025, and expects “to continue this trajectory” in the coming three years, according to Stockman.
The Feb. 27 expansion of the Irvine office brought together company leadership, industry partners and senior government and military representatives from the U.S. and Australia.
“As we mark 70 years of operations, our focus remains on practical innovation, engineering excellence, and delivering long-term value across the aerospace and defense sector,” Angus Hutchinson, CEO of Thomas Global, said in a statement on the expanded presence in Irvine.
The event also underscored the importance of sustained collaboration between the U.S. and Australia in advancing aerospace and defense industrial capability.
Founded in Sydney in 1956, Thomas Global Systems has grown from a specialist electronics manufacturer into an international aviation and defense electronics business.
