Echodyne has opened a new advanced radar manufacturing facility in Washington State, expanding its manufacturing capacity to meet rapidly growing demand from US and allied customers.
Echodyne says the new 86,350-square-foot facility is a major step in readying supply for multiple, large, global markets.
The company has begun end-to-end manufacturing operations which will eventually be able to produce more than 30,000 radars annually – equivalent to more than 2,500 radars each month.
Over the coming months, Echodyne will transition all manufacturing operations from its headquarters to the new site, creating a dedicated manufacturing and operations hub capable of supporting sustained production growth across its radar portfolio.
The company’s $40m investment in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility is complemented by more than 100 new jobs and up to 200 as the facility reaches full production capacity, it says.
“Our global customer base is demanding more radar to be delivered as fast as possible,” said Eben Frankenberg, CEO of Echodyne.
“Drones are driving significant change in both enabling a drone economy and in defending against nefarious drone use.
“While radar performance will always be the dominant consideration, product availability both now and in a predictable and consistent manner over time is quickly becoming a requirement for any global supplier.
“The only way to defend against mass is with mass. That requires not just high-performance economical radars, but the ability to manufacture them at scale.”
The new facility provides approximately 74,350 square feet of manufacturing space and 12,000 square feet of warehousing, enabling production to flex across multiple radar product lines while supporting future product introductions.
Rather than relying on traditional low-volume defense production, Echodyne’s manufacturing approach combines breakthrough radar technology with commercially scalable production techniques.
The company says the simplicity of its patented Metamaterials Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) architecture was engineered not only to deliver exceptional radar performance, but also to maximize manufacturability, allowing production to scale efficiently using commercial manufacturing methods while maintaining consistent quality.
The company’s modular approach enables manufacturing capacity to flex across product lines, rapidly introduce new capabilities and respond quickly to changing customer demand, it says.
Recent program awards and growing international demand underscore the need for expanded manufacturing capacity, Echodyne adds.
Most recently, the company was selected as the primary radar provider for Trust Automation’s Small UAS Detection System (SUADS) platform, which is being delivered to the US Air Force under a $490 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract.
The company expects to continue expanding its workforce as manufacturing operations scale.