Home to 21 major military installations and three unified combatant commands, Florida has one of the nation’s largest defense and homeland security industries.
Virtually every major defense contractor from the U.S. and abroad has significant operations in Florida. Florida’s defense and homeland security industry is one of the nation’s largest. From defense aviation to biometrics to cybersecurity, Florida’s areas of industry expertise are wide-reaching, and there are few states that can compete with its labor force — ranked fourth in the nation for high-tech employment.
With nearly 1.3 million veterans, 67,000 current active duty military, and large numbers of former military and NASA personnel, Florida offers an impressive pool of workers with the skills and security clearances your business needs. The state’s world-class educational institutions are consistently among the nation’s top producers of STEM graduates.
Florida offers the airspace and infrastructure to meet your needs with thousands of square miles of controlled land and overwater air space, 300+ days of VFR flight conditions a year, and multiple aerospace and defense parks with “through the fence” access. Additionally, defense companies in Florida have access to 125 public-use airports, including 19 commercial airports, and two spaceports to seamlessly operate from Florida.