The Oklahoma City Innovation District ecosystem has considerable economic strengths in aerospace engineering, led by Tinker Air Force Base, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, the FAA Academy, the FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, Lockheed Martin, Delaware Resource Group, Raytheon, Kratos and SkyDweller Aero.
Click below to view an overview of why Oklahoma is ‘a World Hub for Aerospace.’
With the largest concentration of aviation and aerospace firms in the state, the Greater Oklahoma City region’s 236 firms employ 36,600+ workers, a number that continues to grow annually.
Nearly 65 percent of the workforce at Tinker Air Force Base, the largest single site employer in Oklahoma, consists of civilian contractors and service providers, and Greater Oklahoma City now boasts more than 300 public and private sector aviation and aerospace firms.
Oklahoma’s Native American community also boasts a stronghold in the aerospace industry. The Cherokee, Choctaw and Osage tribes are making a collective effort to further Oklahoma’s success in the aerospace and UAS arenas through funding advantages with minority participation, and as Oklahoma’s statewide focus on aerospace grows, the Tribes have capitalized on the opportunity to diversify their portfolios backed by State, Tribal and academic institutions.
With the academic-backed institutions of the University of Oklahoma’s Aerospace & Defense Innovation Institute, the Oklahoma Aerospace Institution for Research and Education (OAIRE) and Oklahoma State University’s Unmanned Systems Research Institute, the Innovation District’s aerospace ecosystem only contains to grow and develop internationally recognized talent and assets for research and development.
Click below to view the Innovation District’s aerospace assets on our Cognitive City, The Nucleus.
The Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Research and Education (OAIRE) will bring the state’s aerospace innovation economy together under one umbrella.
Skydweller plans to increase operations to 120 aerospace engineering and field technician jobs in Oklahoma by 2024.