Over 9 million passengers trekked through John Glenn Columbus International Airport and Rickenbacker International Airport in 2024.

Columbus Regional Airport Authority President and CEO Joseph R. Nardone announced that 2024 was a record-breaking year.

Anduril’s factory just south of Rickenbacker International Airport is expected to generate an additional 4,500 jobs among suppliers, services and indirect employment. Overall, the Ohio Department of Development projects $2 billion in economic activity and $800 million in tax revenue, according to a press release.

The TSA reported Thursday that it intercepted 31 handguns at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in 2024, down from 38 discovered in carry-on luggage the previous year. That equates to 5.7 firearms found for every 1 million passengers screened.

From the Wright brothers to Joby Aviation, Ohio's aerospace history and present was one factor that attracted Anduril's mega-factory for producing drones and autonomous weapons systems.

Dubbed "Arsenal-1," the $1 billion Pickaway County factory will be the largest job-creation project in Ohio history, state officials say.

Anduril Industries plans to invest more than $900 million to build the facility on 500 acres in Pickaway County near Rickenbacker International Airport.

Located at Rickenbacker International airport near Columbus, Anduril's "Arsenal-1" facility will be the company's first attempt at reaching what it calls "hyper-scale" production capacity of delivering tens of thousands of autonomous weapon systems annually.

The facility will be built on 500 acres in Pickaway County near Rickenbacker International Airport, with room for future growth. By 2035, it will employ some 4,000 workers, who company and government officials say will have an average salary of $132,000.

Anduril Industries has selected a site near Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus, Ohio, to house a planned 5 million sq ft unmanned vehicle production