Picogrid, Silicon Valley DefenseTech Firm Launches Oklahoma Facility
Picogrid, a developer of field intelligence technology that can provide continuous and real-time insight into remote locations, plans to begin groundwork on a Lawton, Oklahoma facility in 2024. The company hopes to have the factory operational in 2025 and expects to bring a significant jobs to the area.
The facility will focus on manufacturing of Lander, Picogrid’s flagship sensor platform. The announcement comes after the company won a $950 million Pentagon Indefinite Deliver, Indefinite Quantity contract, highlighting its merging presence as a leading defense technology manufacturer.
Picogrid plans to open the factory at FISTA Innovation Park, an emerging defense manufacturing hub just minutes away from Fort Sill, a major U.S. Army base that has the world’s largest military field artillery training facility. FISTA is a center of collaborative defense technology research and development.
Picogrid Director of Government Solutions Anthony Lugo stated that the company plans to build a 10,000-square-foot facility at FISTA, but as the company grows, it could expand to as large as 20,000 square feet.
Following a site-selection visit this fall, Lugo described the FISTA facilities as “cutting edge,” and expressed confidence that the site aligns with Picogrid’s mission.
“Oklahoma overall is important to Picogrid because we really just saw the opportunity that was going on there with defense innovation and what Tulsa is doing, but the FISTA in Lawton was really intriguing to us, so that’s really what brought us there,” Lugo said. “The state as a whole presents a great opportunity for innovation on the defense-tech side as well as just the tech side.”
Company leadership says the plan marks a significant milestone in the company’s expansion strategy and is an example of their commitment to supporting local economies. Lugo said Picogrid has a five-year plan that includes growth “upwards of 200 people” to facilitate production at the future plant.
Krista Ratliff, president and CEO of FISTA, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership.
“We are excited about Picogrid’s interest in joining FISTA,” Ratliff said. “Their presence in Lawton-Fort Sill promises new professional and educational opportunities for our community.”
In August, Picogrid was awarded the U.S. Air Force contract for the maturation, demonstration and proliferation of capability across platforms and domains, using open-systems design, modern software and algorithm development to enable Joint All Domain Command and Control. Contract awardees will compete for efforts within seven competitive pools that support the operation and development of systems across all domains, including air, land, sea, space, cyber and electromagnetic spectrum.
According to the Picogrid website, the Pentagon and Congress are focused on the benefits that JADC2 can provide amid heightened tensions in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.
Lugo said troops on the ground still use equipment that’s 15 years old and can’t communicate with each other, and his son, a third-generation soldier, works with many of the systems he used years ago. Picogrid systems connect various sensors, physical infrastructure and military equipment to allow them to function cohesively, according to the company website. Their open-standard solutions were created to help both small and large defense contractors deliver results quickly and securely.