Avio USA, a subsidiary of Rome-based Avio S.p.A., broke ground on its first U.S. manufacturing facility, a roughly 900,000-square-foot solid rocket motor plant in Hurt, Virginia, according to a press release statement.

Located at the Southern Virginia Multimodal Park, the facility is designed to produce thousands of solid rocket motors annually for U.S. tactical missile programs. The company expects to create approximately 1,500 jobs in the region.

HITT Contracting is serving as general contractor for the project. Construction is expected to be completed by late 2028, with production anticipated to begin in early 2029.

The facility is being developed to support solid rocket motor requirements for multiple defense customers, including NYSE: LMT Lockheed Martin and NYSE: RTX Raytheon.

"This new facility is a significant step toward a more robust and diverse supply chain for solid rocket motors that are critical to our nation's defense," said Tim Cahill, president of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.

James Syring, CEO of Avio USA, said the company aims to operate as an independent, open-source merchant supplier serving multiple customers and defense programs.

Avio USA operates under a DCSA Special Security Agreement. Avio S.p.A. is described as a rocket and space propulsion company headquartered in Rome, Italy.