Echodyne has opened a new radar manufacturing facility in Washington State, saying the site will expand production capacity as demand grows for counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) and short-range air defence.
The company said the $40 million facility spans 86,350 square feet and is intended to support production of more than 30,000 radars per year, or more than 2,500 per month. Echodyne said it has begun end-to-end manufacturing operations at the site and plans to transition manufacturing from its headquarters over the coming months.
The opening comes amid increased government spending on airspace monitoring and counter-drone capabilities, driven in part by the widespread use of drones in the Russia-Ukraine war and growing expectations of higher drone activity in commercial and public-safety applications.
Echodyne said the facility includes about 74,350 square feet of manufacturing space and 12,000 square feet of warehousing, allowing production to shift across radar product lines and support future product introductions.
According to the company, the facility will add more than 100 new jobs initially and up to 200 roles as the site reaches full production capacity. US Senator Maria Cantwell and US Representative Suzan DelBene attended the grand opening and toured the facility, the company said.
CEO Eben Frankenberg said customers are seeking faster delivery and more predictable supply, alongside radar performance. He cited drones as a driver of demand across both commercial use and protection against malicious activity.
Echodyne’s products use its Metamaterials Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) architecture, which the company says provides electronic beam steering using a simpler design than conventional electronically scanned array radars that rely on thousands of phase shifters. Echodyne said the approach is intended to reduce size, weight, power, complexity and cost, and support manufacturing at scale using commercial processes.
The company said demand is increasing across counter-UAS, force protection, border security, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, protection of critical infrastructure, and beyond visual line of sight operations for autonomous systems.
Echodyne said its radar technology is integrated into hundreds of defence and security systems and is used in platforms developed by companies including Anduril, Axon, Moog and Northrop Grumman. It also said it was selected as the primary radar provider for Trust Automation’s Small UAS Detection System platform, delivered to the US Air Force under a $490 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract.
