BAE Systems is expanding its Colorado manufacturing footprint to support growing demand for space-based hardware and sensor systems.
The company has purchased a 130,000-square-foot (12,077-square-meter) production building on a roughly 13-acre (5.2-hectare) site in Weld County, north of Denver. BAE Systems expects the facility to reach about 600 employees at full capacity.
The site will support production tied to space-based hardware and sensor systems, but BAE Systems has not identified specific programs that will use the facility.
The expansion will add to the company’s existing manufacturing operations in Boulder, Broomfield, and Westminster. The firm plans to retrofit the building and acquire equipment through the end of 2026, with production expected to begin in early 2028.
“The support we received from the Weld County Commissioners and the State of Colorado played a key role in our ability to locate this essential production work for the company in Colorado, extending our manufacturing presence in the state,” Alexis Wang, BAE Systems’ vice president of operations, said.
BAE Builds Capacity for US Space Programs
The Colorado expansion comes as BAE works on several US space programs involving missile warning satellites, advanced sensors, and spacecraft instruments.
In October, the company secured a US Space Force contract to develop compact radio terminals for a space-based communications network designed to withstand jamming, electromagnetic interference, and radiation.
The award follows several recent milestones in BAE Systems’ space defense work. In September, it completed the Critical Design Review for the $1.2-billion Epoch 2 program, which will deliver 10 satellites in medium Earth orbit to detect and track missile launches using infrared sensors.
Earlier, in May, BAE Systems also delivered sensor hardware and a controller for the US Space Force’s Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared Polar missile warning program. The first payload is scheduled to support a satellite launch in 2028.