Cruise missile company ramps up JCC presence

It's June 30. Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace hires local managers as site work continues on its Toano factory. New state budget allows local governments to raise sales taxes -- with voter approval.

Toano native Shawn Manning is project manager for the new factory that will make cruise missiles in Toano (Williamsburg Watch photos)

Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace is ramping up its presence in James City County as it prepares to open a cruise missile factory in Toano.

Shawn Manning, himself a Toano native who is project manager for the new factory, told Williamsburg Watch the Norwegian company has already hired more than a dozen project leaders who will be responsible for hiring and training the facility’s employees.

Kongsberg expects to have the 150,000 square foot facility fully operational by 2028, according to comments by Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace President Eirik Lie at a groundbreaking ceremony earlier this year.

Site work is underway at industrial park where factory will be located

“We’re not hiring in a blitz right now...that’ll come in 2027,” Manning said. “Right now, we’re primarily looking for our leaders -- human resources, a facility security officer, which we hired...all of the major leaders that are required to manage” the startup of the plant.

Manning said Kongsberg expects to hire most of the plant’s 187 employees from the Hampton Roads area, drawing on its large number of retired military and industrial employees.

Site work has been underway for a while at the Lovett 64 Commerce Center industrial park where the $71 million Kongsberg factory will be located. Kongsberg will invest another $30 million for engineering and software costs, according to a press release from former Gov. Glenn Youngkin when the deal was announced in 2024.

In exchange for its investment and for providing 187 new jobs with an average annual salary of $78,989, Kongsberg will receive up to $2.25 million in state grants and another $1.5 million from James City County, state officials said.

It will manufacture two types of cruise missiles for the U.S. Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Air Force. The Navy and Marines will be buying naval strike missiles for littoral combat ships and the Navy’s new Constellation-class frigate.

The Air Force will be buying Joint Strike missiles for their F-35 stealth fighters. Kongsberg said the Air Force selected the missile because it can be carried inside the airplane, preserving its stealth signature.

It will be Kongsberg’s first missile facility in the United States. The 212-year-old company operates another factory in Johnstown, PA -- its largest outside of Norway -- to build remote weapons stations.