Targeted Industries

The aerospace and defense industry is a crucial component of Colorado’s technology economy.  Also, because of Colorado’s geographical location, it provides one-bounce satellite communications to Europe and Asia, and due to our Mountain Time Zone, Colorado companies can efficiently conduct business with both continents during the same business day.

 

Colorado has approximately 24,890 private-sector aerospace and defense workers and approximately 150 companies that develop products from launch vehicles and satellites to command and control software, sensors, and navigation equipment.   If you add suppliers and related businesses, Colorado has over 163,000 workers in more than 400 businesses statewide according to the Colorado Space Coalition.  In fact, aerospace and defense employment grew 6.9 percent in the state from 2006 to 2011; the national growth for the same period was -1.7 percent.  

 

Colorado ranks first in the nation for its 2011 concentration of private-sector aerospace employment (24,890).  The 2010 average salary for an aerospace and defense worker is $113,830 ($90,870 nationwide).  A total of $2.8 billion was spent in 2010 for Colorado’s aerospace payroll.  There are 28,750 military personnel located within the state for a total of 53,640 direct jobs in the state.  

 

The Aurora/Denver metro region ranks second out of the 50 largest metro areas for private aerospace employment with 19,500 workers.  And Aurora is a major driver in the aerospace industry in Colorado - more than one-third of Colorado’s direct aerospace jobs are located in the city and at Buckley Air Force Base. 

 

The Aurora Economic Development Council is a member of the Colorado Space Coalition, a group of stakeholders in the Colorado space industry whose efforts support and promote the industry regionally and nationally.  We are also a leading member of the Colorado Space Business Roundtable, an organization that creates venues for large and small aerospace companies to interact and identify mutually beneficial business opportunities.  

 

Aurora’s Buckley Air Force Base is home to the 460th Space Wing and provides global infrared surveillance, tracking, and missile warning for theater and homeland defense and provides combatant commanders with expeditionary warrior Airmen.  Buckley is home to more than 81 other tenants representing every branch of service and components – Active Duty, National Guard and Reserve.  The base’s economic impact for 2011 remains well above the $1 billion mark for a seventh year in a row. Buckley continues to be the fastest growing Air Force base in the nation.

 

Front Range Airport delivers a full range of services for commercial, corporate, and private aircraft. Created in 1982 to serve as a general aviation reliever airport, Front Range Airport is now the largest general aviation airport in Colorado.  With its unique location just 22 miles from downtown Denver and six miles southeast of Denver International Airport, Front Range Airport  features premiere general aviation facilities, in addition to 24-hour a day air cargo operations, railway track access, and business airpark opportunities. 

 

Front Range Airport has applied to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to become a licensed spaceport to serve as a launch sight for suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLV) and as a test sight for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV).Front Range Airport offers both proximity to a major airport hub and access to a large, educated labor force, as well as the remoteness needed for space vehicle launch.   Space flights from Front Range Airport would take off horizontally like any standard commercial airplane, but after reaching an altitude of 50,000 feet, the aircraft would maneuver into a vertical position to ascend into its suborbital flight pattern.  With the second ranked aerospace economy in the United States and abundant military and space resources, Colorado is an ideal state for spaceport designation.  Further, Front Range Airport would be an effective partner for Colorado’s military entities in need of a test site for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. 

 

Raytheon Company, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and The Boeing Company all have major operations in Aurora.  In fact, Raytheon is the city’s second largest private employer with more than 2,200 employees (Northrop has 830, Lockheed has 780, and Boeing has 240 – all in the top 25 largest private employers).