CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this article did not clearly describe the arrangement between Northrop Grumman, Elevate Rapid City and the state of South Dakota. The Dakota Scout strives for accuracy and regrets the error.
The U.S. military's next generation of stealth fighters are drawing defense contractors to a new industrial park just a few miles from the Air Force base where their pilots are stationed.
State leaders and dignitaries gathered in Rapid City Wednesday morning, where they announced an anchor tenant at its newly established Innovation District in western South Dakota’s primary population hub.
“Northrop Grumman’s presence in the Innovation District is an important step in what we’re building in Rapid City,” Elevate Rapid City President and CEO Jack Valentine said at a morning announcement where the state unveiled its contributing $1 million from an economic development fund to ready the arrival of the Department of War’s B-21 Raider manufacturer.
The state’s contribution is in addition to the Rapid City commerce chamber organization’s $18 million development of the Innovative District, envisioned as a cluster of defense-focused companies that will supplement and support Ellsworth Air Force Base, which straddles the Pennington-Meade County line east of Rapid City. Additional companies are expected to be added to the district in the months and years ahead.
“This investment gives us the infrastructure to bring more defense companies, talent, and opportunities to the region and build on the momentum surrounding Ellsworth,” said Valentine, referring to the Box Elder military site where the B-21 Raider is anticipated to arrive next year.
A Virginia-based aerospace and defense company, Northrop Grumman’s decision to establish manufacturing operations in South Dakota comes less than a year after Gov. Larry Rhoden challenged the state to cement itself and its economy in national security, declaring that national security is “South Dakota’s next big industry” during his State of the State address in January.
At that time, Governor’s Office of Economic Development Commissioner Bill Even told The Dakota Scout in an exclusive interview that the state has quietly accumulated assets the federal government and defense industry rely on, hosting a rare combination of national security-critical industries, including food production, energy generation, cybersecurity, defense manufacturing, financial services and secure communications.
He called the air base in Box Elder “a strategic advantage.”
Since then, the state has established the South Dakota Defense Institute, a facility in the Innovation District established as a space where defense-focused students, researchers and defense companies can collaborate to support innovation, workforce development and industry growth. The Governor’s Resilience and Infrastructure Task Force was also created by the governor to oversee and guide efforts to strengthen the state’s defense ecosystem, supporting critical infrastructure and creating opportunities for greater collaboration between industry, government and education.
"National security is South Dakota’s next big industry, and today we’re putting action behind that commitment,” Rhoden said Wednesday, also acknowledging the role South Dakota’s delegation on Capitol Hill played in securing the B-21 at EAB, including Sen. Mike Rounds. “When a world-class company like Northrop Grumman chooses to invest in our state, it sends a strong signal to the national security industry about their belief in the opportunities available in South Dakota.”
