Raytheon has completed a 17,000 square foot expansion of its manufacturing facility in Forest, Mississippi, backed by a $50 million capital investment. The company expects the project to create 100 high-skilled jobs by 2028 and widen the site's capacity to support defense programs.
The expanded space will serve as a hub for production, testing, and integration of Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band pods for the US Navy and the Australian government. It will also support work on other airborne radar programs.
Barbara Borgonovi, president of Naval Power at Raytheon, said completing the expansion reflects a long-term commitment to Forest and to Mississippi, and described the effort with state and local partners as building the workforce, infrastructure, and capabilities needed to increase production for national defense programs.
With the addition, the Forest site now covers roughly 445,000 square feet of manufacturing space, ranking it among the largest defense manufacturing facilities in the state.
The investment continues a decade-long buildout. Raytheon has completed three expansions at Forest over the past 10 years representing a combined $280 million in capital spending, including a 20,000 square foot addition finished in 2013 and a 50,000 square foot radar production and testing facility finished in 2020.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves framed the project as both an economic development win for the state and an investment in national security, pointing to the 100 high-skilled positions coming to Forest. US Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the investment expands domestic manufacturing capacity and supports modernization of US military capabilities.
Raytheon has operated in the Forest community for 40 years. The expansion arrives as defense manufacturers broadly increase capacity and reinforce supply chains for advanced electronic warfare and airborne radar systems.
Source: MRO Business Today - https://mrobusinesstoday.com/raytheon-completes-50-million-expansion-of-mississippi-manufacturing-facility/