JAMES CITY — Local, state and national leaders broke ground Friday for a new facility that intends to produce cruise missiles for the military.
The private, invitation-only ceremony took place off Old Stage Road in the James City County community of Toano for the new Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace Inc. facility, the first in the United States for the Norway-based company.
U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman speaks at a groundbreaking ceremony for Norway-based Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace Inc., which is building a missile manufacturing facility in James City County. (Sara Harris/Consociate Media)
Plans for the 150,000-square-foot building were first announced in fall 2024. Kongsberg, founded in 1814, is a global technology company that supplies products to customers in the marine, defense, aerospace, offshore industries and renewable energy sectors. The new facility will produce missiles for the U.S. Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.
Kongsberg is investing more than $100 million in the project. The project is slated to generate nearly 200 new jobs.
James City County was selected due to its strong military presence and proximity to numerous military sites, including the Naval Weapons Station in Yorktown.
“We are very proud to be ground breaking here in James City County and spreading our roots in this community,” Heather Armentrout, U.S. president and general manager of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace Inc., said Friday.
Heather Armentrout, U.S. president and general manager of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace Inc., follows members of the Fifes & Drums at the groundbreaking ceremony for the company’s first American facility in James City County. (Sara Harris/Consociate Media)
Several Kongsberg employees made the trek from Norway for the ceremony, including Eirik Lie, the head of the company. Lie said the facility will provide additional production capacity, sustainment and tech capabilities for “highly advanced, fifth generation cruise missiles capable of both maritime strike and land attack.”
“We are excited to bring this technology to the U.S.,” he said. “We are fully committed to supporting the U.S. Armed Forces.”
Other speakers at the groundbreaking included John McGlennon, chair of the James City County Board of Supervisors; Virginia Secretary of Transportation Shep Miller; Anniken Huitfeldt, Norwegian ambassador to the United States; and U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner said during video remarks that the two missiles that will be manufactured — the Naval Strike Missile and Joint Strike Missile — will be “gamechangers.”
The U.S Navy awarded Kongsberg a multiyear procurement contract for the Naval Strike Missile in 2024 for its Over-the-Horizon Weapon System, as well as the Marine Corps’ Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, according to a news release. The U.S. Air Force selected the Joint Strike Missile in 2024 for use on the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter.
Outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin, along with Wittman, were instrumental in securing the project for Virginia. The groundbreaking comes on the heels of an Irish manufacturing company locating its first American facility in James City County. Dublin-based CEL Critical Power, which provides infrastructure for data centers, began operations off Green Mount Parkway in August.
A full-scale model of a Naval Strike Missile, one of the missiles that Kongsberg builds, is on display during a groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility in James City County. (Sara Harris/Consociate Media)
Wittman said the new Kongsberg facility will be “an invaluable tool” when it comes to the country’s defense.
“We are making sure we have what we need to keep the peace,” he said.
The new facility will also “strengthen our local and regional economy while strengthening the country’s defense,” Miller added.
The Kongsberg facility will be the first tenant in a new commerce park that is being constructed off Old Stage Road near Upper County Park. The building’s address will be 1814 Innovation Drive, in honor of the year the company was founded, McGlennon said.
“Thank you for choosing James City County,” McGlennon told company leaders. “We are excited for the great things that are about to happen for our citizens, for our country and for Norway.”
Construction is anticipated to begin later this year, with the first missiles slated to be produced in 2028.
Brandy Centolanza, bcentolanza@cox.net