Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye aircraft belonging to the US Navy " Black Eagles " squadron, heading to Moffett Federal Airfield in Silicon Valley
TH CENTRAL FLORIDA
by Rick de Yampert at Northrop Grumman’ s Melbourne site. The company is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia.
Boeing
Boeing, one of the world’ s largest aerospace manufacturers, the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world, and the largest U. S. exporter( in terms of dollar value), expanded its footprint in September 2025 with the opening of a new engineering facility in Daytona Beach – within the Cici & Hyatt Brown Center for Aerospace Technology at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Initial plans call for Boeing to perform work for military aircraft programs at the 65,000-square-foot site, which includes a 40,000-square-foot hangar. Work will focus on engineering design, research, development, and prototyping capabilities.
The facility will start with approximately 200 highpaying engineering jobs, and Boeing expects to double that workforce to 400 employees over the next several years.
Boeing operates numerous facilities focusing on defense, space and security throughout Florida, including sites in Cape Canaveral, Titusville, Orlando, Jacksonville, Eglin Air Force Base and South Florida.
Daytona-area philanthropists J. Hyatt Brown and his wife Cici donated $ 25 million to help make the Boeing research facility a reality, and the State of Florida provided $ 25 million in matching funds.
Boeing was founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. The company merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997.
FEBRUARY / MARCH 2026 | 15 |