SAY NO! to AI Drone and Ballistic Missile Warfare

SAY NO! to Ohio Being the Heart of the World’s Scariest Arms Race.

SAY NO! to Ohio Becoming a Warmaking Waste Zone.

SAY YES! to real security through diplomacy and justice.

     Anduril Industries (with the convergent acronym AI) is a military technology company specializing in artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous systems, and data analytics software.

     On January 17, 2025, Anduril announced their Arsenal-1 AI/drone warfare complex, set to be built just outside the Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Pickaway County, Ohio. Rickenbacker airport, its railroads and surrounding warehousing infrastructure would provide access to global markets.

     Behind Anduril – only incorporated in 2017 – is Peter Thiel, founder of PayPal, data analytics company Palantir, and venture capital firm Founders Fund that is funding both Anduril and Elon Musk’s SpaceX.  AI technology innovators are now in the business of capturing the lucrative “defense” market. 

      It should not be a done deal!  There are questions of ownership of the land and other irregularities. 

The military-industrial-government complex is overwhelming and overpowering local communities. 

• Anduril came to Pickaway County in 2023. The public learned about rezoning for Anduril only shortly before it was passed. Areas outside the Anduril complex are being similarly rezoned for industrial use, despite the overwhelming disapproval testimony of local citizens at public hearings.   
• Ohio has given Anduril a 2.594% Job Creation Tax Credit through 2055, worth about $452 million, along with $70 million from the All Ohio Future Fund.  
• Tax breaks and secret subsidies: Arsenal-1 has been put under the auspices of the Ohio Development Services Agency. From there, its operations have been put into Jobs Ohio, which can keep secret from the public the amount of Ohio tax revenue doled out. 
• Artificial intelligence and data systems are automating democratic decision-making.  

IS THIS “NATIONAL SECURITY”?

• Unending noisy flights: Rickenbacker’s two 12,000-ft runways handle international air shipments. An Anduril facility would add an unthinkable number of flights to the area, including test flights.  
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• Will Anduril test-fly their fighter drones over Columbus, within the airspace of multiple airports?
• Trains: Rickenbacker has a large railroad system that uses Norfolk-Southern, the company responsible for the devastation of East Palestine, Ohio in February, 2023. 
• Inflated 4,000 jobs claim stretches out over 10 years. Construction jobs, yes. Much of the production will be automated. Software experts will come from elsewhere. 
• Jobs will be paid for by taxpayers:  meaning workers will pay for their own jobs.
• Worker health is a major concern when dealing with toxic materials.  
• Whatever Anduril invests, they expect to get back. U.S. taxpayers will foot the bill for these systems, plus military-size profits for Anduril.  
• Destruction of land, environment, and living systems where Anduril AND its extensive array of suppliers are and will be actively seeking rezoning and construction permits. The ever-expanding complex will cover a sizeable area that has delicate wetlands and is prone to flooding. 
• Ohio’s rural communities don’t want to be paved over. Goodbye to generational rural culture. 
• Inestimable quantities of water will be used. People in the area get their water from wells that are subject to dewatering and migration of toxic substances. 
• What will power a weapons facility of this size?  AEP is already struggling to serve data centers.
• Watch Anduril’s use of energy drive up electricity and gas bills! 
• Smog and asthma: Anduril will add to Central Ohio’s already dangerous smog and asthma problem. 
• Greenhouse gases will be added to the atmosphere throughout all these processes. 
• Military madness robs funding of real security needs: health care, housing, transportation, education, and other services like libraries and funding the arts that make for quality of life. 

WORLDWIDE

• Warfighting on a monstrous scale. The best we can hope for is that no one would use these weapons. Who will be safe? No accidents or misjudgments allowed.
• Ethical and operational risks of AI in military applications: The push of a button can devastate entire cities. Some missiles are equipped to destroy as many as six cities. When built, they cry out to be used.
• AI may also, terrifyingly, make the decision to launch. 
• Anduril’s new partnership with OpenAI raises concerns about militarizing civilian AI technology.
• Anduril would be a prime target for an attack, with the air base, weapons factory, weapons intelligence and military logistics hub.  Columbus, with major military research going on at Battelle Memorial Institute and Ohio State University, becomes increasingly vulnerable.  
• Sold to the World: Anduril’s AI drones, submarines, and missile systems will likely be sold to other nations. Endless war can be bankrupting, as well as world-destroying. 

A NUCLEAR CONNECTION? 

     Sixty miles south of Rickenbacker is the Portsmouth Nuclear Site (PORTS) at Piketon, Ohio, a site contaminated with transuranic radioactivity. There, Centrus is enriching uranium to weapons-usable grade, ostensibly for as-yet-unbuilt nuclear reactors. AtkinsRéalis is processing depleted uranium for use in tanks, shells, and now dial-a-nuke bombs. Oklo plans to build two nuclear reactors and a nuclear fuel fabrication facility there. The Department of Energy is promoting new nuclear industries at the contaminated site. 

     Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton: Warheads (nuclear?) could well be added to drones there.  

    Both Arsenal-1 and the Ohio Nuclear Development Authority (ONDA) are within Jobs Ohio (see p. 1) where their funding can be kept secret.  Failing in the legislature, the bill creating ONDA was added to the 2023 Ohio budget. Nuclear warheads would be lightweight candidates for Anduril AI drones and missiles. 

ANDURIL SYSTEMS: Fury and Roadrunner autonomous air vehicles and Barracuda cruise missiles are to be produced in Central Ohio. Lattice is an AI-powered iron dome command-and-control platform that integrates data from anywhere – including drones, sensors, sentry towers, radar, and cameras (eyes on everyone). An Iron Dome Defense Shield was ordered to be built by President Trump on Jan. 27, 2025.   

     HYPERSONIC BALLISTIC MISSILES (HBM)? The Russian launch of a hypersonic ballistic missile into Ukraine has ignited frenzied competition. There is also a rush to develop missiles to counter HBMs. On 1-7-25 Anduril announced a $14.3M contract for solid rocket motors. 

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL IRREGULARITIES: 

     Anduril Industries faces multiple lawsuits. A case was filed against Anduril by the National Labor Relations Board alleging violations related to retaliation, discharge, and discipline of employees. Anduril’s autonomous surveillance towers along the U.S.-Mexico border has faced criticism from human rights organizations.   In July 2024 Anduril was sanctioned by China due to arms sales to Taiwan. 

     Geopolitical tensions increase as military contracts affect international relations.

If you are reading this in print, updates to this sheet, as well as hyperlinks, can be accessed at bit.ly/4i6obZ0.                 

      Contact: Pat Marida patmarida@outlook.com        February 2025