Trident Systems to add 50 jobs in Fairfax

Fairfax-based aerospace defense contractor Trident Systems plans to invest $3.7 million in an expansion of its Fairfax County operation, creating about 50 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday.

Trident Systems, which was acquired by Chantilly-based LightRidge Solutions in July 2023, produces space electronic systems for the Department of Defense, NASA and the intelligence community. The company works in space electronics and integrated C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) technologies.

The expansion will add infrastructure to assemble, integrate and test Trident products. It will expand capacity for material handling and storage, electronic lab benches, test stands and specialized testing equipment such as environmental test chambers, a spokeswoman for LightRidge Solutions told Virginia Business.

Trident Systems has 172 employees, with about a dozen currently working at the Chantilly facility, according to the LightRidge spokesperson. Trident expects to add 30 to 50 employees in Chantilly over the next year and into 2025. The jobs will include production engineering, test and assembly as well as specialized technician roles and management/oversight roles to support the operation.

“Trident’s rapid growth providing unique solutions that maximize our customer’s mission impact enabled the need for this higher-volume production facility. We are excited to expand our presence in Virginia supporting our nation’s critical space needs,” Lorin Hattrup, general manager of Trident Systems, said in a statement. “Our new production facility will allow us to support a range of products on rapid timelines while maintaining affordability.”

Trident Systems is a 2020 graduate of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) program, which assists established Virginia-based companies with growing their export business.

“Trident Systems’ expansion demonstrates the strength of the commonwealth’s aerospace and tech ecosystem,” Youngkin said in a statement. “This homegrown Fairfax County company has grown its business in the commonwealth for nearly [40] years, and its continued innovation in space electronics is at the heart of this production expansion to serve the defense and intelligence communities.”

In March 2023, Northrop Grumman selected Trident Systems as a subcontractor to provide processing and storage electronics for 14 of the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 1 Tracking Layer satellites. Trident Systems is delivering developmental and flight units in support of the payload, which is designed to track missiles and other hypersonic objects from low Earth orbit.

Chantilly-based defense contractor LightRidge Solutions, a portfolio company of ATL Partners, acquired Trident Systems for an undisclosed amount last summer. It was LightRidge’s third acquisition.

VEDP worked with the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority to secure Trident’s expansion for Virginia. Trident will receive support through VEDP’s Virginia Jobs Investment Program, which provides consulting services and funding supporting job recruitment and training for companies creating new jobs in the commonwealth.

This story has been updated since publication to reflect LightRidge’s updated headquarters location.