LAWTON – The Lawton Economic Development Authority (LEDA) will issue a request for qualifications (RFQ) for a “construction manager at risk” to oversee the Firehawk Aerospace project.
The Addison, Texas-based company announced recently it will invest $45 million to build a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Lawton.
“It makes sense for us to be in this neighborhood, because Fort Sill is the training base for the missile systems that Firehawk is developing design concepts for,” George Liddell, director of operations for the company, told the Lawton City Council.
Firehawk Aerospace produces hybrid rocket engine propellant the U.S. needs to rebuild its stockpile of weapons because America has used so much of its arsenals to support its allies, Liddell said.
The company has settled into FISTA in Central Plaza and is “looking to hire people here,” Liddell said.
Qualifications from applicants for the construction manager at risk (CMaR) will be accepted until noon July 17 in the Lawton City Clerk’s office.
A three-member committee comprised of LEDA Chairman Fred Fitch, City Councilman Randy Warren, and LEDA member David Madigan, president and CEO of Arvest Bank – Southwest Oklahoma Region, will review the applications and recommend a selection for the Authority. “It’s a qualifications-based selection,” LEDA Executive Director Richard Rogalski said.
Former Mayor Fitch and City Councilman George Gill both indicated they want the job to go to a local individual or company.
The CMaR will oversee a project consisting of all of the buildings, structures, on-site utilities and all related site development work.
“Make sure you fix the construction manager’s price long before you receive the bids,” Lawton Public Utilities Director Rusty Whisenhunt advised LEDA members. Otherwise, he said, the CMaR’s fee will go up in tandem with any project cost increases. Whisenhunt earned an undergraduate degree in construction management and a master’s degree in civil engineering, both at Oklahoma State University.
Firehawk Aerospace is eyeing 320 acres of undeveloped land owned by the Comanche County Industrial Authority and situated between 112th Street and Goodyear Boulevard, north of the railroad tracks, Rogalski said. The land is valued at approximately $9.6 million, records indicate.
U.S. Department of Defense regulations “must be followed for this project,” applicants will be told. Even though the proposed site for Firehawk’s operation is not on Defense Department property, “We can’t get a DoD contract if DoD guidelines are not followed,” Rogalski told Southwest Ledger.
What facility will be comprised of The Firehawk initiative includes a $22 million state and federal funding package for construction of a 40,000 square-foot manufacturing facility, test infrastructure and specialized manufacturing equipment.
A company document reports construction will include 16 structures “serving a variety of functions,” and the structures “will cover roughly 76,200 square feet.”
Seven industrial buildings of varying sizes and requirements will be built. The largest, encompassing 22,500 square feet, will house office space and a high-bay warehouse. That building will have a parking lot that will accommodate at least 100 vehicles and space for loading docks.
There also will be “a smaller and separate industrial building dedicated to shipping and receiving of energetic materials,” Firehawk Aerospace officials related.
Three manufacturing buildings will be constructed “and will require properly rated barricades (protective barriers) due to the processing of energetics.”
In addition, six reinforced bunkers will be constructed: four earth-covered magazines and two aboveground magazines.
Also planned are three rocket motor test stands. Each will be built “to handle highthrust loads and will consist of reinforced foundations, concrete walls, electrical, and surveillance systems.”
The company reported it will invest in advanced machinery and other improvements to equip the manufacturing plant. LEDA to build, lease facility LEDA was awarded $18 million to construct the facility and “we will seek another $4 million from the state,” Rogalski said. Firehawk Aerospace will occupy the facility and lease it, he told LEDA members during a June 26 meeting.
The total investment is expected to create approximately 100 “high-tech, high-paying jobs by 2028,” Rogalski said, marking a transformative milestone for the region’s aerospace and defense sectors.
Design of the facility “will start soon,” and the CMaR will play a vital role in the project, Rogalski said.
Construction is set to begin later this year, with operations expected to start in 2026. “We’re still waiting on them to finalize their site plan,” he said.
The company’s anticipated contributions to the project will total more than $23 million over the next three and a half years and will include salaries, engine test equipment, propellant and production machinery and equipment, and leasehold improvements, records reflect.
The company predicts production will reach 1,000 pounds per day of propellant, enough to power 15,000 rocket motors annually.
The small, private-sector business is “reshaping how solid-rocket motors are designed, built, and fielded, by using additive manufacturing and innovative production techniques,” Rogalski said.
Firehawk has an innovative approach to rocket propulsion: it utilizes 3D-printed solid rocket fuel to produce safer, more efficient and cost-effective hybrid engines for various applications, including defense and commercial space exploration.
“These technologies will ensure a resilient, domestically controlled supply of critical missile systems and advanced missile technologies, supporting our country’s defense strategy and fortification of the nation’s supply chain for national security,” said Rogalski, Lawton’s former deputy city manager.
The company states on its website that, “To date, Firehawk has successfully completed 58 hot fire tests for both hybrid and solid rocket motors, as well as one hybrid flight test.”
Firehawk Aerospace was incorporated in Delaware in 2019, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Andrew Wills Edwards of Richardson, Texas, is the executive officer, the SEC document shows.
Turn to LEDA, p3 Nearby residents oppose rezoning Residents of the Pecan Valley South housing addition are less than thrilled about the prospect of a heavy industry in their neighborhood.
A petition signed by residents of the subdivision was submitted to city officials last year. After the LEDA meeting last week, Pecan Valley resident Mark Gibson circulated a proposal for “buffer zone and zoning enforcement for industrial development near residential areas.”
The Lawton City Council initially rezoned the half-section of land eyed by Firehawk Aerospace from agricultural to Industrial-2 in March 2024, “supporting a balanced approach to growth while safeguard quality of life for nearby residents,” Gibson wrote.
However, there has been some talk about rezoning the site to I-4 heavy industrial.
Gibson urged the City Planning Commission to restrict I-4 zoning to “only the acreage essential for operations” and only if it’s “deemed safe.”
One concerned citizen who doesn’t live in Pecan Valley asked the Ledger how the City of Lawton could rezone land that’s outside the city limits in Comanche County.
“Of course that site is in the city limits,” Rogalski answered. “The fact that we rezoned it proves that.”
“While we welcome the economic opportunities Firehawk Aerospace may bring, the nature of industry allowed within Heavy Industrial I-4 zoning demands thoughtful planning and appropriate safeguards,” Gibson continued.
Consequently, he proposed a mandatory minimum buffer of 2,000 feet between heavy industrial operations and residential properties, schools or churches.
“We’ve established a 1,000-foot setback on the west side” of the Firehawk site, Rogalski said. That’s a buffer zone equivalent to the length of three football fields.
“We’re trying to work with the neighbors out there,” Rogalski told the Ledger. A meeting between Pecan Valley residents, LEDA and Firehawk representatives is tentatively scheduled for July 9 in City Hall to discuss the setback issue.
The Firehawk operation “won’t create a smell or produce garbage, and their engine tests last only a few seconds,” Rogalski said.
Area residents also are worried about the potential for an explosion at Firehawk’s operation.
“That’s a valid concern,” Rogalski conceded. “Energetics is a fancy word for something that could explode, because it’s rocket fuel. However, as I said, there’s a Department of Defense standard Firehawk has to design to.”