When Expansion Means Escalation: A Response to Boeing’s New Fighter Jet Facility in St. Louis

This week, Boeing released a concept video showcasing its planned expansion of advanced fighter jet facility in St. Louis. While some in government and industry may celebrate the promise of $20 billion in defense contracts, 500 new jobs, and a state-of-the-art digital aerospace campus, we must pause to ask: At what cost are these developments being made?

Boeing’s new fighter jet facility will be used to produce the F-47 fighter jets—part of the Pentagon’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. These jets are not designed for humanitarian relief, environmental restoration, or domestic infrastructure; they are designed for dominance—lethal air superiority in future wars. As the Peace Economy Project, we question how such investments align with the true needs of our communities in St. Louis and across the country.

Let’s take a closer look at what this fighter jet facility expansion really means.

Billions for Bombs, Not for Basic Needs

While Boeing and defense contractors reap billion-dollar deals, schools in North St. Louis remain underfunded, hospitals understaffed, and basic infrastructure—clean water, public transit, affordable housing—continues to crumble. St. Louis County Council approved a staggering $155 million in tax incentives to help subsidize this expansion. Imagine what $155 million could do if reinvested in education, public health, or job training for sustainable industries.

We are told these fighter jets will bring jobs. But history shows us that military jobs are among the least efficient ways to create employment. According to research from the Costs of War project at Brown University, every $1 billion spent on defense creates about 11,200 jobs, whereas the same amount spent on education or clean energy could create 15,000 to 17,000 jobs. That’s not just a missed opportunity—it’s a strategic failure to invest in people over weapons.

Conceiving the Fighter Jet Facility: A Community Left Out of the Conversation

This expansion is happening without meaningful public engagement or community input. The neighborhoods closest to the new facility in North St. Louis County have long experienced disinvestment, environmental injustice, and over-policing. Now they will live next to the production site for warplanes designed to extend U.S. military dominance abroad. Were these residents consulted? Was their consent given?

Rethinking What Security Means

Boeing’s messaging leans heavily on “next-generation” innovation and security. But real security is not found in fighter jets. It’s found in stable housing, accessible healthcare, living wages, and a clean environment. It’s found in diplomacy, conflict prevention, and demilitarization—not in fueling an arms race.

We must ask ourselves what kind of future we’re building when we funnel resources into war machines while our communities cry out for care. The St. Louis region deserves bold, visionary investment—but not one that comes at the expense of peace, justice, and sustainability.

Say “No” to this Fighter Jet Facitly: A Call for Peace-Centered Development

Peace Economy Project calls on elected officials, civic leaders, and community members to demand better. Let’s shift our priorities away from perpetual militarization and toward building an economy that values life over weapons, healing over harm.

Let’s reimagine what could be built in St. Louis if we divested from destruction and reinvested in the people. Expansion should mean opportunity—not escalation.