Sunday, February 23, 2025 was a cold, wintry day in Central Ohio, but concerned citizens gathered at Rickenbacker International Airport to challenge the wisdom of building a $1 billion weapons factory in Columbus Ohio. The project, called Arsenal-1, would build numerous types
of weapons, including flying drones, underwater vessels, and surveillance towers, for government agencies and the military.

The demonstration was directed by Darrin Broering, a member of a national anti-war group of military veterans (Veterans for Peace), but also included members of several other organizations. He refuted claims that Anduril, the company that owns this project, would produce jobs, capital investments, and grants and other benefits from the state, or that it would strengthen national security and the military establishment. He explained that “We don’t really want our jobs and tax money going towards destruction when [they could be used for] productive forces instead... We’re out here to have our voices heard and to start networking and getting people together so we can start educating our community on what this is all about.”

Other participants argued against the use of their tax dollars to kill people and warned that developing increasingly destructive weapons could lead to catastrophic outcomes. While objecting to the creation of Arsenal-1, many protestors also noted serious unusual aspects of Anduril’s plans. For example, Anduril will only hire people who previously served in the military, and it will not become a public company until at least 2026. Other people were concerned about the adverse consequences of creating the facility in this location, including increases in noise, smog, and greenhouse gases, as well as water and sewer issues.

In addition to the local and state concerns about building this weapons factory in Ohio, protestors questioned the wisdom of prioritizing militaristic ventures over meeting people’s basic needs. One protestor commented, “I’m an organizer with the ANSWER Coalition to stop war, end racism, and support socialism in Columbus. I’m proud to stand here with all of you today to say no to Anduril. We’re here to say that the people of Columbus and Central Ohio do not consent to having the war machine in our backyard. By protesting the Anduril base, we also protest US capitalism and imperialism. The drones they want to produce here will become weapons used in Israel’s genocidal occupation of Palestine. This facility plans to produce automated surveillance towers that will further militarize the U.S. and Mexico border. This means that weapons made here in Columbus will target our immigrant neighbors and nations resisting imperialism abroad. Weapons manufacturers have made it crystal clear that U.S. imperialism uses the same weapons to harm working class groups and oppress people across the globe. The only people who profit from this are...the same group of billionaires currently engaging in warmongering to further line their own pockets.”

Many protestors asked if the benefits of building the Anduril military factory in Central Ohio outweigh the costs. A local resident worried that: “As a private corporation, Anduril has no legal obligation to be transparent about how they’re arriving at those numbers [4000 new jobs in Central Ohio and over $900 million in capital investments into the surrounding area]”; moreover, there is “no mechanism to hold them accountable... they've used Ohio tax dollars on industries like fracking, which has taken more jobs than it has created. Anduril is not going to create a substantial number of new jobs that benefit folks already living in the local community but will absolutely threaten long term residents in historically black and brown neighborhoods on the south side of Columbus with displacement."

Another participant stated that, “If you care about health care for everybody, if you care about education, if you’d like to see the transportation policy not made by the highway lobby, if you would like to see health care policy not made by the insurance companies, and [finally] if you would like to see foreign policy not made by weapons manufacturers, then we must take this seriously” and continue to protest the creation of the Anduril facility in Central Ohio.