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Anduril Industries considers building weapons hub outside US
The $61 billion defense tech company is eyeing allied nations for its next hyperscale manufacturing facility, with Australia and Japan already in its crosshairs.
Anduril Industries, the defense technology company that has quickly become the Pentagon’s favorite startup, is weighing plans to construct a major weapons manufacturing hub outside the United States. The move would mark a significant expansion of the company’s global footprint and signal a new phase in how Western allies produce autonomous military systems.
This isn’t Anduril’s first international rodeo. The company already operates facilities in Australia, including a robotic submarine factory in Sydney that has been running since October 2025. It has also been exploring what it calls “Arsenal J,” a facility in Japan modeled after its massive Ohio plant, since around December 2025.
The Arsenal-1 blueprint goes global
To understand what Anduril might build overseas, you need to understand what it already built in Ohio. Arsenal-1, located in Pickaway County, is the company’s flagship hyperscale production facility. It represents somewhere between $900 million and $1 billion in investment, covers more than 5 million square feet, and is expected to create over 4,000 jobs. Production there began ramping up in March 2026.
Chris Brose, Anduril’s Chief Strategy Officer, laid the groundwork for international expansion back in August 2024. He emphasized that the company was considering basing future Arsenal-style plants overseas, specifically in allied nations.
A $61 billion company with global ambitions
Anduril has the cash to back up the ambition. On May 13, 2026, the company announced a $5 billion Series H funding round that valued the firm at $61 billion. The funding is specifically targeted at scaling production capacity at Arsenal-1 and similar facilities.
The Asia-Pacific region appears to be the most likely destination for a new facility. Anduril’s existing Australian operations and its Arsenal J exploration in Japan both point toward a strategy centered on the Indo-Pacific theater. Australia, in particular, seems like the natural frontrunner. Anduril already has a Ghost Shark manufacturing facility in Sydney, which produces its XL-AUV autonomous undersea vehicles.