Weapons systems facility development underway in southern Colorado 

Pueblo, COLO. (KRDO) – Construction is happening for a defense complex in Pueblo County. It's a development by Voyager Technologies on PuebloPlex land.

PuebloPlex was formerly known as the Pueblo Chemical Depot. On Tuesday, KRDO13 spoke with Russell DeSalvo, Pueblo Native and CEO and President of PuebloPlex.

"Our mission is to enhance Pueblo's tax base, recreate jobs that are being lost at this facility, create new jobs, and then ensure that the property is safe for the uses that we have in mind for the property," said PuebloPlex CEO & President Russell DeSalvo.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Pueblo Chemical Depot completes destruction of chemical weapons stockpile

DeSalvo says now that the demilitarization is complete and the group designated to rid of the chemicals is sunsetting its work, it's time to redevelop and use the land. This includes multiple developments.

Right now, there are more than a dozen tenants located at PuebloPlex. These tenants are involved in a wide variety of spaces, including aerospace and defense, the railroad industry, and research and development. Some of the tenants have worked with PuebloPlex to revamp the buildings that are already on PuebloPlex property to give them new life. Others are building from the ground up, such as Voyager Technologies.

Voyager Technologies is building what they call the Voyager American Defense Complex to advance the Pentagon’s urgent call for industry to accelerate domestic missile defense and tactical munitions orders.

"Bringing back the defense industrial base or reshoring It is a big initiative of the federal government. Pueblo has a heritage and a history of, you know, doing this type of work at this facility. And so we were thrilled with the opportunity that was presented to us to bring Voyager Space to our site. There are other entities or other aerospace organizations, both in space and defense, that have an interest in property like ours, and we're just super thrilled for the opportunity to work with them," explained PuebloPlex CEO & President Russell DeSalvo.

This time around, there will be no storage or destruction of chemical weapons. Instead, this will be manufacturing parts and systems for rockets and other weapons, according to Voyager Technologies.

"I would just be hopeful that the community understands that there's a truly deliberate attempt to redevelop this property in a responsible manner. We've been working on this project, as we spoke earlier, since 1988. So the community has been involved and invested in this redevelopment effort since the mid-90s in earnest," said DeSalvo.

DeSalvo explained how PuebloPlex works very closely with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to ensure all safety guidelines are followed.

"The Army, PuebloPlex and the CDPHE work very closely with one another to ensure that property is safe for our intended reuses before we release it to a manufacturer or to a user. And so, that collaboration has been going on for decades and will continue for many decades into the future. And so we're just respectful of that process. And we certainly, you know, want to ensure that this property is safe," explained the PuebloPlex President and CEO.

Voyager Technologies tells KRDO13 the Voyager American Defense Complex will be 150,000 square feet made for advanced manufacturing, operations and testing on PuebloPlex’s 16,000 acres and over 1,000 Earth-covered magazines. PuebloPlex says the Earth-covered magazines, also colloquially called igloos, are now rented as storage facilities.

Voyager Technologies says the defense complex will support high-volume production of weapon systems-enabling components, propulsion systems and assembled energetic grains used across the U.S. military, as well as Voyager’s proprietary controllable propulsion technologies. They note that it can also house critical chemical and black powder development. 

Voyager Technologies says construction is being led by H.E. Whitlock, a Pueblo-based contractor, supporting more than 75 employees of local trades and subcontractors. But on a greater scale PuebloPlex hopes to bring back thousands of jobs to the industrial complex.

"I just hope that the community supports us in our economic development efforts because the jobs that this facility can create really can be a game changer for all of southeastern Colorado," said DeSalvo.

On Tuesday, Voyager Technologies sent KRDO13 this statement:

The Voyager American Defense Complex will produce solid rocket motors and propulsion systems, including the components and raw materials required for those systems, operating under strict Department of Defense, Department of Transportation and state agency regulations for their transport and storage, representing no hazardous effect to the local community. We are in compliance with all laws and permitting processes. Nothing we use or produce falls under the Chemical Weapons Convention, which banned the development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. Unlike the historical chemical weapons at the Pueblo Chemical Depot, our facility uses standard propellant raw materials (like those in NASA rockets) that create controlled thrust through combustion, handled with the strictest local and federal safety requirements. Our AI-enabled supply chain management, advanced robotics and highly-automated manufacturing strengthens America's defense systems that protect our homeland and allies, rebuilds our defense industrial base with 90% greater efficiency, and creates high-quality jobs while maintaining the highest safety standards for both our workforce and the Pueblo community through monitoring, automated safety systems and emergency response coordination with local authorities. 

- A Voyager Technologies Spokesperson

Voyager Technologies says the development is on track to be finished by the end of 2026.

Some residents reached out to KRDO13 expressing concern that they were unaware of the development. However, PuebloPlex says it sent letters, texts, and emails and held multiple community meetings with Voyager Technologies present to talk about future developments. 

Other residents tell us they look forward to the added jobs and more developments coming to Pueblo County. Some even expressed excitement to KRDO13 over the expansion this brings to the Pueblo Rural Fire Department, a fire company in eastern Pueblo County, which will now run the fire department for PuebloPlex.

Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.