FOREST, Miss. (WJTV) – On Friday, Raytheon, an RTX business, broke ground on a 17,000-square-foot expansion of its Consolidated Manufacturing Center in Forest.

Officials said the project is a $50 million corporate investment and will create 100 high-skill jobs in the next five years.

The company will construct a new building on its Forest campus, which will serve as a hub for the production, test and integration of Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) pods for the U.S. Navy and Australian government.

NGJ-MB is an advanced electronic attack system that denies, disrupts and degrades enemy technology, including communication tools and air defense systems.

“As a long-time partner, we see the value of continued investment in Mississippi and its workforce. Our Forest facility supports 20 major programs and runs three shifts per day to deliver the advanced technology our customers need. This latest expansion will help us ramp-up production for a critical airborne electronic attack system to address advanced and emerging threats while protecting U.S. and coalition forces,” said Kim Ernzen, president of Naval Power at Raytheon.

The Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) and Scott County partnered with Raytheon to support building improvements and facility expansion needs for the project.  

Construction of the new facility will begin in October 2023 with completion expected by December 2026.