(BPT) - The U.S. aerospace and defense industries are showing strong growth and staying power. According to a market report by Mordor Intelligence, the aerospace and defense market has a current estimated value of over $525 billion in 2025. It's expected to continue growing at a compound annual rate of 5.76% through 2030, reaching almost $695 billion.

While many regions in the U.S. are contributing to market growth, one state stands out as an industry leader in the aerospace and defense space: Michigan, driven by its Office of Defense and Aerospace Innovation (ODAI). ODAI supports a defense industry that contributes $30 billion in economic activity for the state, with more than 166,000 jobs and nearly 5,000 Michigan businesses serving the defense, defense aerospace and homeland security industries.

How The Great Lakes State leads the way

Michigan has emerged as a national leader in aerospace and defense, leveraging its industrial legacy and innovation ecosystem. To accelerate this momentum, the state launched the ODAI in 2024, building on the foundation of the Michigan Defense Center. ODAI's mission is to catalyze growth within the state's defense and aerospace sectors while advancing innovation and research opportunities that benefit Michigan.

The state is home to over 900 aerospace-related companies and seven Federal Aviation Administration UAS Test Sites. Combined, the aerospace and defense industries contribute a staggering $30 billion to Michigan's economy and provide more than 166,000 jobs in defense, aerospace and homeland security.

In the early years of World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called on Americans to step up as the "arsenal of democracy" in support of the Allied powers, and Detroit answered the call. Since then, Michigan has built on its WWII legacy and reimagined the Arsenal of Democracy as the Arsenal of Innovation, the place where history is made and records are broken. For example, Selfridge Air National Guard Base will be home to one of the newest aircraft in the U.S. Air Force, the F-15EX. This and other advances in defense make Michigan uniquely positioned to help the U.S. remain at the forefront of innovation and defense.

The state plans to further bolster its economic and technological presence in these industries through the Michigan Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Initiative. This strategic approach to AAM includes the development of an integrated manufacturing and innovative ecosystem. Thanks to the initiative's AAM Activation Fund, four new projects will receive over $4.1 million in total funding to scale Michigan's AAM research and infrastructure.

A robust foundation and state-funded initiatives have helped Michigan draw the attention of several aerospace and defense companies, making key industry investments across the state. For example, AJG Aerospace - a local Michigan startup - is investing over $33 million to produce aerospace Invar bond tools, aluminum vacuum fixtures, carbon fiber bond tools, carbon fiber flight parts, aluminum flight parts and carbon fiber structural parts.

Great Lakes Sound & Vibration, another Michigan-based company, is combining the strengths of both industries. The company announced an $8.5 million expansion at its airpark facility. This key investment aims to support additional growth for projects with the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force in addition to contractors that build tanks, trucks, ships and aircraft for the U.S. Department of Defense.

An innovative competition takes to the skies

This year, the inaugural Uncrewed Triple Challenge took place across Michigan's Alpena Harbor, Thunder Bay and ended at Camp Grayling. This first-of-its-kind competition showcased autonomous innovation across land, air and water and brought together uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs), aerial drones (UAVs) and maritime systems for a live demonstration of next-gen mobility and defense applications.

Participants - which included Mythos AI, SiFly and DataSpeed - were challenged to transport packages across Michigan using unmanned systems without any human intervention. Not only did this event show promising industry innovations, but one company broke a world record.

SiFly's electric Q12 drone more than doubled the world record for the longest continuous drone payload flight. The multirotor drone carried a 10-pound payload along the 26-mile flight segment without battery swaps or connection loss, even while navigating wind gusts up to 32 mph.

Become part of the future of Michigan's aerospace and defense sectors

These are just a few examples of why Michigan is at the forefront of the aerospace and defense industries. To learn more about Michigan's ecosystem and what it has to offer, visit MichiganBusiness.org/Industries/Defense.