Announcement comes after Gov. Sanders, AEDC met with L3Harris at Paris Air Show
Following a meeting with Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and AEDC leadership at the 2025 Paris Air Show, L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) announced plans to build more than 20 new manufacturing facilities in Calhoun County, Arkansas, that will produce large solid rocket motors. The new campus will create 50 new jobs over two years, adding to L3Harris’ ~1,300-person workforce in Camden.
“Arkansas is a great place for L3Harris to fortify the domestic solid rocket motor industrial base with its dedicated workforce and strong state and local partnerships,” said Christopher E. Kubasik, Chair and CEO, L3Harris. “Large solid rocket motors are essential to our nation’s missile and strategic defense, and as the Trusted Disruptor, we are strengthening our ability to produce these systems rapidly and at scale, which is essential for current demand and the Golden Dome missile defense shield.”
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and officials from the Arkansas Department of Commerce and Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC) met with L3Harris executives at the Paris Air Show to secure this investment. The new manufacturing facilities will add to L3Harris’ existing site in south Arkansas.
“After a great meeting with the CEO of L3Harris, Chris Kubasik, at the Paris Air Show last month and highlighting all that Arkansas has to offer, we are proud to welcome their new manufacturing facilities to South Arkansas, and excited they are helping to position Arkansas as the arsenal of democracy,” said Governor Sanders. “Our state ranks best in the nation for cost-of-living, number one for inbound movers, and topped the country in economic growth for two quarters in a row – so it’s no surprise that major companies like L3Harris continue to invest in our state and drive our number one export industry, aerospace and defense. Thank you, Chris and L3Harris, for choosing to make Arkansas home.”
L3Harris is investing nearly half a billion dollars across its major production sites to support solid rocket motor production, including $193 million to be spent in Arkansas, with Arkansas businesses, to support the construction and activation of these new Camden LSRM facilities. Construction of more than 20 buildings in Calhoun County will add more than 130,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space supporting production of large solid rocket motors that can power missile defense targets, interceptors and hypersonic vehicles.
“L3Harris is a major part of the aerospace and defense industry in Arkansas, and we are excited to see the company’s continued growth in our state,” said Clint O’Neal, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. “With this capital investment, L3Harris is advancing our national security and creating new jobs for Arkansans that will strengthen our state’s economy and create new opportunities in south Arkansas.”
L3Harris’ new LSRM production facilities are expected to provide a six-fold increase in manufacturing capacity.
L3Harris’ Camden, Arkansas, site is the company’s “Center of Excellence for Solid Rocket Motor production.” Approximately 1,300 Camden employees manufacture more than 100,000 solid rocket motors a year, from those that fit in the palm of your hand to the size of an SUV.
In February, L3Harris announced it began construction on four new solid rocket motor production facilities in Camden. That expansion effort is part of a cooperative agreement between the Defense Department’s Defense Production Act Title III program and L3Harris to increase domestic rocket propulsion manufacturing capacity.
“We are proud that L3Harris has committed to this investment in their facilities in Calhoun County,” said Calhoun County Judge Floyd Nutt. “South Arkansas has a long history in aerospace and defense manufacturing, and this project will build on that history. Calhoun County provides a strong workforce and great business environment for L3Harris’ continued growth.”
“The Calhoun and Ouachita County area is a hub for the aerospace and defense industry in Arkansas and the United States,” said Ouachita Partnership for Economic Development Executive Director James Lee Silliman. “We are excited that L3Harris has chosen to invest in new facilities in Calhoun County, and we stand ready to assist them to succeed in our area.”
About the Arkansas Economic Development Commission
At AEDC, we know economic advancement doesn’t happen by accident. We work strategically with businesses and communities to create strong economic opportunities, making Arkansas the natural choice for success. AEDC is a division of the Arkansas Department of Commerce. To learn more, visit ArkansasEDC.com.
