FlightWave Aerospace Systems Corp., a specialist in making unmanned drones for reconnaissance and surveillance, moved its headquarters to Torrance earlier this month.
Leaving its previous location in Carson, the company has expanded into a 51,000-square-foot facility at 2660 Columbia St. in Torrance.
“Today marks an exciting milestone not just for FlightWave, but for the broader aerospace and advanced manufacturing ecosystem here in Southern California,” FlightWave President Shawn Webb said during the grand opening March 9, reported the Daily Breeze. “We designed this space so manufacturing, engineering and product management can work together more closely than ever before, because when those teams operate in lockstep, innovation moves faster and quality improves.”
The new facility can accommodate up to 175 employees, more than double FlightWave’s current headcount.
Launched in 2015 by Michael Colonno, an early Space Exploration Technologies Corp. chief aerodynamic engineer, FlightWave was acquired by Red Cat Holdings Inc., a Salt Lake City-based defense technology firm, in 2024. In its most recent earnings call on March 18, Red Cat reports a 161% revenue increase year-over-year and boosted production capacity by 520%.
Defense cluster
By moving its manufacturing facility to Torrance, FlightWave is joining the race of numerous technology companies to capitalize on aerospace defense opportunities.
President Donald Trump’s administration proposed a $1.5 trillion defense budget next year. Flanked by Long Beach, which is home to prominent space companies such as Rocket Lab Inc. and recently Voyager Technologies Inc., Torrance is seeing major investments and business moves in its brewing aerospace defense cluster.
Bill Gates-backed Swedish startup Heart Aerospace, for instance, announced plans to move its headquarters to Torrance last year, having raised about $147 million in investment.
Cleveland-based TransDigm Group Inc. also announced in January it acquired Torrance-based aerospace defense manufacturer Stellant Systems Inc. for $960 million in cash.
