Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
ODON – More than 200 attended the Southern Indiana Business Report’s inaugural State of the Region: Defense Sector Tuesday at WestGate@Crane Academy.
The event featured two panels of leaders from the defense industry, local government and economic development, utilities and business.
Kratos, Amentum, CACI, Reliable MicroSystems provided updates on their companies’ multi-million dollar investments in the WestGate Tech Park. Two building projects – Kratos and CACI are currently underway – and a third – Amentum – will resume construction of its Radiation Combined Environment in 2026. Reliable MicroSystems is based in Tennessee with a facility at the WestGate Tech Park that opened in 2023. Its expertise is in making microelectronics hardened so they aren’t affected by radiation in harsh environments, which is crucial for aircraft and the warfighter.
Kratos has two projects that will change the skyline at WestGate. The Indiana Payload Integration Facility, being built just west of the WestGate Academy, will support hypersonic testing and integration. The Indiana Radar Integration Complex will be built east of WestGate Academy. The hypersonics facility is an investment of $50 million-$75 million and will create 100 jobs over the next five years. The radar integration complex is an investment of $80 million-$95 million and will add 150 jobs.
Roger Becker, Kratos vice president of Indiana operations, said Kratos is investing heavily at WestGate because its work is aligned with the mission areas of Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane.
The United States is no longer the leading innovator in hypersonics and has fallen behind China.
“We’re in third place,” Becker said. “Our goal is to get that flight test program to 30-plus flights per year from a handful of flights in previous years. That’s an imperative that the nation needs in order to further our hypersonic goals.”
The new Kratos facility will not only increase the flight test capacity, but will also be cost effective.
The Indiana Payload Integration Facility is on target to be operational by the end of 2026; the Indiana Radar Integration Complex is set for completion in late 2027.
“It’s an ecosystem we’re building in the Kratos campus and we’re very excited to bring this capability to the Navy,” Becker said.
Moderator Bryant Niehoff posed several questions to panelists Becker, Kirk Talbott, vice president of multi-platform engineering and technical solutions at CACI; Tammy Walker, senior program manager for Amentum; and Julia Buckley, COO of Reliable MicroSystems.
Topics ranged from WestGate’s potential to mirror the rise of Huntsville, Alabama – known for its strong economy of aerospace, defense and tech firms – to workforce challenges and what growing defense companies need from the surrounding communities.
CACI is growing rapidly.
“In four years, we’ve grown from doing $4 million in work at Crane to $300 million a year,” Talbott said. “That’s a significant amount of growth and we’re not stopping.”
The new CACI building at WestGate will be completed in August and support 140 employees. Engineers and technicians are needed to meet the present and future demand. Talbott has taken to visiting area high schools to increase awareness of career opportunities at WestGate.
“We’re targeting building a pipeline as much as we can,” Talbott said. “When I showed up at six different schools, no one knew there were job opportunities here.”
In the 20 years since the WestGate@Crane Tech Park was established, activity has ebbed and flowed, but as one panelist put it, the candle never dimmed. As the Tech Park is on the cusp of a major growth spurt, surrounding communities are challenged to provide housing and quality of life amenities new residents are looking for.
“When we relocate employees, they are always concerned with housing, entertainment and dining amenities,” said Walker.
One panelist noted amenities come into play when trying to hire.
“There are good jobs here in the region,” Talbott said. “We will post a good-paying job and get one or two candidates. We need those amenities to attract a strong workforce.”
A second panel was moderated by Jasper Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Nancy Eckerle. Panelists were Bob Grewe, executive director of Daviess County Economic Development Corporation; Shane Smith, CEO of UDWI-REMC; Linton Mayor John Preble; Bruce Carter, president and CEO of Weddle Bros. and Simon Shewmaker, head of development for ACMI Properties.
That panel focused on how local entities are preparing for the WestGate growth, opportunities for entrepreneurs and business growth, and challenges facing organizations and communities aspiring to benefit from the WestGate growth.
Shewmaker gave an overview of the munitions campus to be built about 10 minutes north of NSWC Crane in Bloomfield. Prometheus Energetics, a producer of solid rocket motors, will anchor the campus. An additional 16 tenants have been announced. The $75 million munitions campus will stimulate an estimated $600 million in private investment.
View the panel presentation slides from the SIBR State of the Region here.