From ‘America’s Military Metro’ to the Moon, Virginia Leads in Aerospace and Defense

In a time of increasing geopolitical conflicts, a robust aerospace and defense industry is increasingly important, and Virginia is at the forefront of American innovation in these fields. The Commonwealth is home to the Pentagon, 30 military installations, and the headquarters of four of the five defense primes (companies with direct contractual relationships with the federal government). The Hampton Roads region alone is the most concentrated military region in the country, dubbed “America’s Military Metro” due to the presence of 19 installations including Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval base, and a dense concentration of federal research assets and defense contractors.

Virginia is a major national hub for the maritime industry. Business Facilities ranked the Commonwealth No. 1 for the industry in its recent state rankings, thanks in part to the country’s largest shipbuilding and repair industrial base and the world-class facilities at The Port of Virginia. Virginia’s aerospace ecosystem is similarly strong, with major research and development in Northern Virginia and NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore, one of only five FAA-licensed vertical launch sites in the United States, which supports commercial cargo missions to the International Space Station. The Commonwealth’s highly educated workforce — supported by nationally recognized universities, research institutions, and military talent pipelines — provides employers with deep technical, engineering, cybersecurity, and leadership expertise.

In this digital issue of Virginia Economic Review, we detail Virginia’s long history supporting the U.S. military and the reasons why defense and aerospace companies thrive in the Commonwealth. We highlight the sub-industries of international contractors and next-generation defense tech companies while discussing emerging defense hotspots in the Charlottesville and Fredericksburg areas. An overview of the commercial space industry is supplemented by a video interview shot on location at NASA’s historic Langley Research Center, home to the “Hidden Figures” of Hollywood fame and numerous vital technological advances, with Langley leaders Dr. Trina Dyal and Kevin Rivers. Also inside are discussions with Greg Campbell and Scott Denny of the Virginia Department of Aviation and Greg Simer, chief technology officer at Northrop Grumman Corporation.

We hope you enjoy this look at Virginia’s unique position in the aerospace and defense industries and the crucial contributions these companies make to American society.

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Jason El Koubi