Anduril and Qualcomm Plan Circuit Board Assembly for New Military Laptop at Pickaway County Campus
The BlueChip initiative aims to onshore computer manufacturing starting with a rugged device powered by Arizona-built chips, bringing assembly work to the Arsenal-1 site near Rickenbacker International Airport.
According to reports published on Oct. 27, 2026, Anduril Industries and Qualcomm unveiled BlueChip on Tuesday, a new product line the companies say is meant to rebuild computer manufacturing in the United States.
The first product is a rugged laptop for defense, government, first responder and public safety customers, with circuit board assembly planned for Anduril’s Arsenal-1 campus near Rickenbacker International Airport in Pickaway County.
Anduril announced that it already has working prototypes and expects to begin taking orders in 2027.
An architectural rendering illustrates the planned multi-building layout of Anduril Industries' Arsenal-1 manufacturing campus in Pickaway County.
Credit: Anduril Industries · Illustration Image source
Illustrative rendering
Domestic Supply Chain and Hardware Architecture
The laptop runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Series chip, which handles on-device artificial intelligence tasks, graphics and general computing.
Cristiano Amon, president and CEO of Qualcomm, told reporters that chips for the laptops will be made at a TSMC facility in Arizona.
Parts from suppliers in the United States and allied nations account for more than 90 percent of the prototypes’ component cost.
Anduril founder Palmer Luckey acknowledged that initial units will not be entirely domestic because display panels remain manufactured in China, though the company has secured an American supplier for the protective display glass.
Luckey estimated the finished laptop will cost roughly 20 percent more than comparable high-end computers, noting that the two companies are paying for BlueChip so far rather than relying on government funding.
Built for Defense and Public Safety Users
The prototype BlueChip laptop is a ruggedized computer aimed at military personnel, complete with a rifle strap-style carrying handle.
To support military users, the computer is configured to run Windows and two flavors of Linux that are popular with the armed forces.
The hardware also integrates Anduril’s Lattice software platform, which serves as a backbone for military command and control modernization initiatives.
Luckey told reporters that having the BlueChip laptop execute onboard AI inference running local models is critical for personnel who are not permitted to transmit operational data to cloud networks.
Significance and Unanswered Questions for Arsenal-1
The planned Arsenal-1 campus covers about 500 acres and is expected to reach 5 million square feet, following its announcement in January 2025 as the largest single job creation project in Ohio history.
Under that 30-year agreement backed by a $310 million JobsOhio grant, Anduril committed to invest at least $910.5 million and create 4,008 jobs over 10 years.
Construction on Building 1, which includes 775,000 square feet of production space, began earlier this year, and Anduril is scheduled to have about 250 workers on site by the end of 2026.
At the Arsenal-1 facility in Ohio, Anduril is also building autonomous drones for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.
However, key operational details for BlueChip remain undisclosed, as company officials have not revealed how many jobs will be tied to the project or which building will handle circuit board assembly.
Luckey declined to share production targets, explaining that Anduril has assembled a small prototype line to build out the manufacturing process before entering full-rate production next year.
Planning records from the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission indicate team members created maps showing approximately two million people live within 40- and 60-minute drive time distances of the proposed Anduril and Intel sites.
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The sources and records behind this story, with the facts they support.
Supporting evidence (12)
According to reports published on Oct. 27, 2026, Anduril Industries and Qualcomm unveiled BlueChip on Tuesday, a new product line the companies say is meant to rebuild computer manufacturing in the United States.
Read supporting passage
PICKAWAY COUNTY, Ohio (Oct. 27, 2026) – A laptop with circuit boards assembled in Pickaway County could be in the hands of military, police and emergency responders next year.
According to reports published on Oct. 27, 2026, Anduril Industries and Qualcomm unveiled BlueChip on Tuesday, a new product line the companies say is meant to rebuild computer manufacturing in the United States.
Read supporting passage
Anduril Industries and Qualcomm unveiled BlueChip on Tuesday, a new product line the companies say is meant to rebuild computer manufacturing in the United States.
The first product is a rugged laptop for defense, government, first responder and public safety customers, with circuit board assembly planned for Anduril’s Arsenal-1 campus near Rickenbacker International Airport in Pickaway County.
Read supporting passage
The first product is a rugged laptop for defense, government, first responder and public safety customers. Circuit board assembly is planned for Anduril’s Arsenal-1 facility, the massive manufacturing campus going up near Rickenbacker International Airport.
The first product is a rugged laptop for defense, government, first responder and public safety customers, with circuit board assembly planned for Anduril’s Arsenal-1 campus near Rickenbacker International Airport in Pickaway County.
Read supporting passage
PICKAWAY COUNTY, Ohio (Oct. 27, 2026) – A laptop with circuit boards assembled in Pickaway County could be in the hands of military, police and emergency responders next year.
Anduril announced that it already has working prototypes and expects to begin taking orders in 2027.
Read supporting passage
Anduril says it already has working prototypes and expects to begin taking orders in 2027.
The laptop runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Series chip, which handles on-device artificial intelligence tasks, graphics and general computing.
Read supporting passage
The laptop runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Series chip, which handles general computing, graphics and artificial intelligence tasks on the device itself.
Parts from suppliers in the United States and allied nations account for more than 90 percent of the prototypes’ component cost.
Read supporting passage
The companies say parts from U.S. and allied suppliers account for more than 90 percent of the prototypes’ component cost.
Luckey estimated the finished laptop will cost roughly 20 percent more than comparable high-end computers, noting that the two companies are paying for BlueChip so far rather than relying on government funding.
Read supporting passage
He also said they will cost more than a comparable laptop built in China, with one estimate putting the premium near 20 percent over typical high-end PCs. He said the companies, not the government, are paying for BlueChip so far.
The planned Arsenal-1 campus covers about 500 acres and is expected to reach 5 million square feet, following its announcement in January 2025 as the largest single job creation project in Ohio history.
Read supporting passage
Arsenal-1 was announced in January 2025 as the largest single job creation project in Ohio history. The planned campus covers about 500 acres and is expected to reach 5 million square feet. Under a 30-year agreement with JobsOhio, Anduril committed to create 4,008 jobs, add more than $530 million in new payroll and invest at least $910.5 million within 10 years. The state agreed to a $310 million grant tied to those commitments.
Under that 30-year agreement backed by a $310 million JobsOhio grant, Anduril committed to invest at least $910.5 million and create 4,008 jobs over 10 years.
Read supporting passage
Arsenal-1 was announced in January 2025 as the largest single job creation project in Ohio history. The planned campus covers about 500 acres and is expected to reach 5 million square feet. Under a 30-year agreement with JobsOhio, Anduril committed to create 4,008 jobs, add more than $530 million in new payroll and invest at least $910.5 million within 10 years. The state agreed to a $310 million grant tied to those commitments.
Construction on Building 1, which includes 775,000 square feet of production space, began earlier this year, and Anduril is scheduled to have about 250 workers on site by the end of 2026.
Read supporting passage
Construction of Building 1, which includes 775,000 square feet of production space, was already underway earlier this year, and the company said it planned to have about 250 workers on site by the end of 2026.
However, key operational details for BlueChip remain undisclosed, as company officials have not revealed how many jobs will be tied to the project or which building will handle circuit board assembly.
Read supporting passage
It was not immediately clear how many Arsenal-1 jobs will be tied to BlueChip, which building will handle circuit board assembly, or what the laptop will cost. Anduril has not finished contracting with all of its component suppliers, and the 2027 order window is the next milestone to watch.
https://defensescoop.com/2026/10/27/anduril-palmer-luckey-bluechip-computers-qualcomm/
Supporting evidence (6)
Cristiano Amon, president and CEO of Qualcomm, told reporters that chips for the laptops will be made at a TSMC facility in Arizona.
Read supporting passage
Cristiano Amon, president and CEO of Qualcomm, told reporters during the call that chips for the laptops will be made at a TSMC facility in Arizona.
To support military users, the computer is configured to run Windows and two flavors of Linux that are popular with the armed forces.
Read supporting passage
“As of right now, we have it running Windows and two particular flavors of Linux that are very popular with the U.S. military to make sure that all the drivers work, make sure that all the applications work,” he said.
The hardware also integrates Anduril’s Lattice software platform, which serves as a backbone for military command and control modernization initiatives.
Read supporting passage
One of the applications that has been integrated into the BlueChip system is Anduril’s Lattice software platform that serves as the backbone for some of the military’s high-priority modernization initiatives, such as Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2).
Luckey told reporters that having the BlueChip laptop execute onboard AI inference running local models is critical for personnel who are not permitted to transmit operational data to cloud networks.
Read supporting passage
“Maybe not training large models, but on the inference side, they’re fantastic. And so, I’ve been using my BlueChip laptop to do a whole bunch of local model work where … I don’t want to — and actually am not allowed to — send certain information out into the cloud. And so having devices that can do a really good job of onboard AI inference running local models is actually really, really important,” he told reporters.
At the Arsenal-1 facility in Ohio, Anduril is also building autonomous drones for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.
Read supporting passage
Anduril plans to use its Arsenal-1 facility in Ohio — where it’s also building autonomous drones for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program — for BlueChip manufacturing.
Luckey declined to share production targets, explaining that Anduril has assembled a small prototype line to build out the manufacturing process before entering full-rate production next year.
Read supporting passage
“We’re not sharing any quantities yet. We’re gonna have a lot more to announce next year. I think it’s really, really tough right now to announce these things. To be totally candid, we’re in an unprecedented time, as it were, for building computers given … the AI explosion, and so we’re not going into full-rate production until next year. We’re in very early prototyping production. Like, we have a very small line put together, very small quantities of these right now to build out the manufacturing process. But I’m not going to know quantities until we have a little more clarity on the manufacturing side, the vendor supply chain side. There’s a lot of moving pieces,” he said.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/27/anduril-qualcomm-launch-bluechip-a-new-kind-of-us-made-laptop/
Supporting evidence (1)
Anduril founder Palmer Luckey acknowledged that initial units will not be entirely domestic because display panels remain manufactured in China, though the company has secured an American supplier for the protective display glass.
Read supporting passage
Right now, for instance, Luckey says he’s found an American supplier for the glass that covers the display, but the display itself is one of several components he says are only manufactured in China.
https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/1019274/anduril-qualcomm-bluechip-laptops-american-made-military
Supporting evidence (1)
The prototype BlueChip laptop is a ruggedized computer aimed at military personnel, complete with a rifle strap-style carrying handle.
Read supporting passage
The prototype is a ruggedized computer aimed at military personnel, complete with a rifle strap-style carrying handle
Supporting evidence (1)
Planning records from the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission indicate team members created maps showing approximately two million people live within 40- and 60-minute drive time distances of the proposed Anduril and Intel sites.
Read supporting passage
Team Members created maps of 40- and 60-minute drive time distances. Approximately two million people live within the drive time distances of the proposed Anduril and Intel sites.