L3Harris Technologies has negotiated a High Impact Business Performance (HIPI) grant for $2 million from the state of Florida. The HIPI, an incentive used to attract and grow major facilities, provides an allocation of $1 million in 2025 and $1 million in 2027 for the company’s two new facilities in Palm Bay, Florida.
“Under Governor DeSantis’ decisive leadership, Florida continues to make strategic investments that lead to growth in high-demand industries, building confidence in Florida for job creators like L3Harris and securing our national defense,” said J. Alex Kelly, Florida Secretary of Commerce. “We are glad to see L3Harris making the decision to further invest in Florida and look forward to working with them as they expand their presence in the Space Coast.”
The first new building – a satellite integration facility – will be approximately 93,000 square feet to manufacture space vehicles and produce satellite constellations focused on supporting national defense interests. It will feature a high-bay clean room capable of simultaneous production of large and small satellites with separated rooms designed for classified work at multiple security levels. Investments in modular production tools are expected to enable rapid reconfiguration to increase speed and lower cost of production. This effort is expected to provide approximately 100 new jobs with an average annual salary of approximately $105,000.
The second new building – an advanced microelectronics facility – will be approximately 98,000 square feet to support unique, advanced manufacturing technologies. It will feature a state-of-the-art manufacturing cleanroom along with collaboration spaces to support advanced packaging efforts. This effort is expected to provide approximately 100 jobs with an average annual salary of approximately $111,000.
“Florida is home to a significant number of our operations and is truly the center of our research and development activities,” said Ed Zoiss, President, Space and Airborne Systems, L3Harris. “We’re investing in growing our footprint with these two new buildings and appreciate Florida’s grant support. Our global customers need us to expand our capabilities and we are excited to meet that expectation.”
Headquartered in Florida since 1978, L3Harris is the largest aerospace and defense company in the state. It employs 9,000 employees at 27 locations across Florida with an annual economic impact of approximately $470 million through work with suppliers and vendors. The direct wages of L3Harris employees based in Florida exceeds $1 billion.