Electra, an aircraft manufacturer, is going to be building its first U.S. manufacturing plant at $850m in Springfield, Ohio, the company along with the state officials announced on July 21, 2026, at the Farnborough International Airshow in England.
The 96-acre facility will manufacture the nine-passenger, hybrid-electric EL9 Ultra Short plane model of the startup and create 1,975 jobs, the press release said.
The design work is scheduled to start right away, with construction to begin in 2027. The facility will initially be capable of producing as many as 400 aircraft a year. However, there is no opening date that has been announced.
Electra spent roughly a year figuring out where to put its manufacturing plant, the company said in the release.
The requirements included infrastructure preparedness and long-term expansion capacity along with accessibility to the workforce capabilities that are needed in aerospace, defence as well as advanced manufacturing to facilitate the EL9 Ultra Short build.
This first U.S. manufacturing plant at $850m will be located within the Airpark Ohio industrial development, which is adjacent to the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport and near Dayton International Airport. The site is also close to U.S. Route 68 as well as Interstate 70.
The startup also selected the region since it offers advanced air mobility companies numerous assets, including an expanding AAM production footprint located near Dayton International Airport. Joby Aviation has air taxi plane production facilities at the airport and has been slowly ramping up its operations since 2023.
Other proximity advantages consist of the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence testing flight location in Springfield. The site is also near the aerial radar systems, called SkyVision, at the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport. Skyvision is managed by the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Electra is working toward an airworthiness certification from the Federal Aviation Administration for planes with 19 or fewer passengers before the first expected flight, which is scheduled for late 2027 or early 2028.
The new facility is an extension of the research and development agreement by Electra with Safran Helicopter Engines, which was established on July 15. The deal is for the development and production of the TG600 turbogenerator from Safran that will supply electricity to the Ultra Short aircraft from Electra. The agreement additionally includes a first order for 250 units, making Safran’s engine the main system.
It is well to be noted that Electra’s investment is one of a series of statements made at the Farnborough International Airshow, which is a biannual defense and aerospace exhibition.