Dallas, Texas-based Firehawk Aerospace, a defense technology company that builds munitions, rockets as well as other defense manufacturing, has announced the leasing of a facility in Lowndes County which will result in 100 new jobs creating from the investment by the company of $16.5 million.
Firehawk Aerospace acquired the former Nammo Talley facility in Crawford in mid-February. The new jobs will be created over the new five years, according to the company’s website.
“This acquisition strengthens Firehawk’s ability to address one of the nation’s most urgent defense challenges: rebuilding munition inventories that have been drawn down faster than they can be replaced,” said Firehawk Co-Founder and CEO, Will Edwards. “While the current industrial base is built to produce thousand of rockets per year, we are building this site—and our broader manufacturing footprint—to operate at a much higher production tempo. With R&D in Texas, energetics production in Oklahoma, and now full system integration in Mississippi, we are designing for throughput measured in thousands per month, not years.”
The Mississippi Development Authority is providing financial assistance through the Mississippi Flexible Incentive program. Lowndes County is assisting with the project also.
Bill Cork, Executive Director of the MDA, said Firehawk’s decision to locate in Crawford showcases the state’s ability to host aerospace and defense companies anywhere in the state—not just in the coastal region when NASA and similar companies/organizations are located.
“Mississippi continues to prove that the future of aerospace and defense is not limited to the coasts,” said Cork. “Mississippi has been in the rocket business for more than 60 years and companies like Firehawk Aerospace choose our state because they know they can innovate, grow and compete at the highest level while advancing technologies critical to our nation’s security.
“Firehawk Aerospace chose Mississippi because we’re built for companies that refuse to wait,” said Governor Tate Reeves. “We move faster and deliver the workforce and infrastructure innovative aerospace companies demand—without red tape.”
No date has been given as to when Firehawk’s Mississippi operations will begin, but the announcement noted it will be “in the near future.”