Jane Edwards 
- Heven AeroTech has opened a new manufacturing facility in Winchester, Virginia
- The site is the first in a planned coast-to-coast production network
- Additional sites are planned to add research labs and automated systems
Heven AeroTech has opened a 56,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Winchester, Virginia, establishing its first East Coast production site and expanding its hydrogen-powered unmanned aerial system manufacturing operations beyond its original base in the Columbia River Gorge.
The company said Wednesday the Virginia site represents the first location in a planned multisite manufacturing network intended to support production of hydrogen-powered UAS on a national scale.
What Does Heven AeroTech’s New Virginia Facility Support?
The Winchester facility is intended to serve as the operational model for additional production sites Heven AeroTech plans to open across the country. According to the company, future locations are expected to incorporate hydrogen research and development labs, automated manufacturing systems and dedicated space for partner technology providers to operate alongside company personnel.
The facility supports production of the company’s Blue UAS Select Z1 drone, a hydrogen-powered platform cleared through the Defense Innovation Unit’s Blue UAS program. The site is also intended to build out the manufacturing processes, quality systems and supply chain infrastructure needed to scale UAS production over the long term, according to the company.
The company noted that it expects to add hundreds of jobs nationwide as its manufacturing network expands, with near-term hiring focused on manufacturing technicians, assembly, quality, operations and supply chain roles.
What Did Heven AeroTech Officials Say About the New Facility?
“U.S. national security demands a resilient, sovereign technology base capable of scaling beyond prototyping,” said Bentzion Levinson, founder and CEO of Heven AeroTech. “The launch of Heven AeroTech’s coast-to-coast manufacturing network transitions hydrogen-powered UAS from boutique production to an industrialized, highly repeatable capability, aligning directly with the deployment mandates of our defense partners.”
Michael Buscher, president of U.S. operations at Heven AeroTech, said the speed of the facility’s opening demonstrates the company’s ability to meet near-term production demands.
“By standing up our first East Coast facility within 90 days, we are proving that domestic UAS manufacturing can move at tactical speed to meet the immediate and emerging needs of those carrying out critical missions,” Buscher said.
What Is Heven AeroTech?
Heven AeroTech is a Sterling, Virginia-based manufacturer of hydrogen-powered, runway-independent drones for defense, commercial and humanitarian missions. Founded in 2019, the company designs, manufactures and deploys unmanned systems built for extended endurance, low observability and modular configurations. Its platforms are designed and built in the U.S. and deployed internationally.
Heven AeroTech has expanded its federal presence. Earlier this year, the company secured a basic ordering agreement from the U.S. Army to procure its Z1 unmanned aerial system, while its subsidiary Zepher Flight Labs received a contract modification under the Department of War’s Hydrogen at the Tactical Edge of Contested Logistics program to continue development of a hydrogen generation trailer.
The company also strengthened its leadership bench, adding technology leader Samantha Hamilton as vice president of artificial intelligence and naming Scott Howell, a retired Air Force lieutenant general, to its advisory board. By July, growth continued with the appointment of defense industry veteran Lexi Alexander as chief growth officer, tasked with scaling operations and international expansion.
