Silicon Valley’s $4 Billion Gamble on Defense Manufacturing

Every month Neros Inc. makes hundreds of drones designed to drop warheads on adversaries. By the end of the year, the company wants its new Southern California factory to crank out 10,000 per month. Never mind that Neros only has orders for 36,000 of them for Ukraine.

“If we wait until a buyer comes knocking and asks for a certain quantity of drones built at a certain pace, it will be too late,” said Chief Executive Officer Soren Monroe-Anderson. “The supply chain is the hard part. We are putting in the work now” to be able to produce weapons later, he ...