Summit speakers say Utah positioned to be nation’s aerospace and defense hub

If Utah wants to be a national hub for aerospace and defense, it will need its innovators and builders to keep doing what they have already done for decades, infused with the “get it done” spirit of the state’s pioneers. 

That was the core message to kick off the recent Zero Gravity Summit, a two-day event in Salt Lake City focused on A&D. Keynote presentations and panel discussions at the technology and national security summit fell into four categories: defense tech, advanced air mobility, new space economy, and energy production and grid security.

Speakers noted that Utah has added more jobs in A&D since 2023 than any other state and has a long history of A&D activities, giving it an advantage for the future.

“It’s an amazing pioneer presence that we live in, and we have all of the assets, we have all of the ingredients, to do amazing things,” Aaron Starks, CEO and president of 47G, told the crowd. “But we’ve got to continue partnering and we’ve got to continue thinking big.”

Starks said Utah’s A&D industry is “100 years in the making.” The state’s flat plains, wide-open air space, high altitudes and other characteristics positioned it for industry success. One example is the development of solid rocket motors dating back to the 1940s, and now Utah has 600 companies with a defense contract.

“Now, if you were to remove aerospace and defense from Northern Utah’s economy, some economists predict it would take 20 years for the economy to recover,” Starks said.

Examples of industry hallmarks in Utah include Hill Air Force Base’s aircraft maintenance and repair operations, Northrop Grumman’s expansion for the Sentinel missile defense program, Boeing’s manufacturing activities in West Jordan, the Utah State University Space Dynamics Lab, Delta Air Line’s Salt Lake City hub and home to a new pilot training facility, L3Harris’ $583 million contract to develop next-generation jamming technology, extraction of critical minerals and rare earth elements needed in F-35 fighter aircraft and other national security interests, and Torus raising over $200 million in venture capital to design and produce energy storage and related technologies.

Looking to the future, Utah has the Project Alta initiative to develop the nation’s first operable air mobility system, with air taxis moving people and cargo before the 2034 Winter Olympic Games. Starks noted that Utah has bid to explore the viability of a space port in the state, to launch and recover space missions as a way to capitalize on $1.5 trillion expected to be invested in space over the next 10 years.

While Starks said software development has been and will continue to be a national priority, “we need to continue making things in the United States, and you’re a group of makers.”

Gov. Spencer Cox said A&D represents 20 percent of the state’s economy, and Utah firms and institutions now get more than $6 billion annually in defense contracts and grants. “We are just crushing it out there in this space,” he said.

“Our diverse participation from universities, companies and government culminates into the nation’s premier ecosystem for aerospace and defense companies, and that’s all coming together with 47G leading the way,” the governor said.

Cox also said an all-of-the-above energy development strategy — in part through his “Operation Gigawatt” initiative to at least double the state’s energy production over the next decade — will provide A&D companies the power they will need to expand in the state.

“This is the type of innovation that is only happening in the United States and only happening right here in the state of Utah,” Cox said. “We’re so proud to be leading in so many directions, and we’re doing it because of the people in this room.”

“The world is absolutely taking notice of what’s happening in our backyard,” said Brad Wilson, chairman of the 47G board of directors. “Defense, commercial and humanitarian stakeholders from across the globe are watching what starts here in Utah, because what scales here scales anywhere.”

The world’s focus on the state will intensify as Utah moves closer to hosting the 2034 Olympics, he said. “The world is not just choosing where it watches sports. It is choosing where it invests, where it builds, where it trains, where it tests and where it trusts, and we intend for the answer to be ‘Utah,’” Wilson said.

“Let’s make Utah the national leader in aerospace and defense, and let’s make the next decade the most innovative decade in America.”