Protesters take aim at Anduril drones and weapons plant near Columbus
Over two dozen demonstrators gathered outside the gates of the Ohio Air National Guard Base at Rickenbacker International Airport Sunday afternoon to protest Anduril's future factory in Central Ohio.
The protest, organized by several Ohio activist groups, is one of the first public displays of opposition to Anduril's planned $900 million "Arsenal 1" drone factory, which the company has said would employ over 4,000 people.
Organizer Darrin Broering with Veterans for Peace—a national anti-war group of military veterans—led the protest's proceedings. He said he is against any weapons manufacturing occurring in Central Ohio.
"Yes, (Anduril is) gonna create a bunch of jobs, but those jobs could be producing any number of things that would be more productive and less destructive as well," Broering said.
Over around 90 minutes, the gathered protestors clutched signs critical of Anduril and the U.S. military, listened to speeches from activist leaders and joined in chants of "O-H-I-O, all these drones have got to go."
Pat Marida, a coordinator with the Ohio Nuclear Free Network, said she was concerned the factory would start wars, increase militarization around the world, harm the planet, and allow the company to "cement over Central Ohio."
Sunday's protest was a way for her to coordinate with other activists so they could plan to stop the money flowing to Anduril, she said.
"If we stop the money, we can stop this," she said.
Anduril is a Southern California-based defense technology company that contracts with the U.S. military. The company sells drones, underwater vehicles, rocket motors, AI defense systems and virtual reality systems, according to the company's website.
In January, Anduril announced it plans to invest around $900 million in a Pickaway County factory, saying it would employ over 4,000 workers. The facility—dubbed "Arsenal 1"— would produce the company's Fury unmanned aircraft system before adding production of its Barracuda and Roadrunner drones later, The Dispatch previously reported.
The state of Ohio plans to spend $70 million to build a taxiway and other improvements at Rickenbacker International Airport for the new factory, The Dispatch previously reported.
Production at the factory is planned to start in the middle of 2026.
Anduril was co-founded by Palmer Luckey, the creator of the Oculus virtual reality headset, and others in 2017. The company's current CEO, Brian Schimpf, also helped co-found Anduril after working at Palantir Technologies, a company founded by right-wing philanthropist and billionaire Peter Thiel.
Thiel helped lead the latest round of fundraising for Anduril, according to Tech Funding News.
NHart@dispatch.com
@NathanRHart
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Dozens protest future Anduril weaponized drone factory in Ohio
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