ViDARR names Virginia Beach drone plant for Navy SEAL admiral

New manufacturing hub

ViDARR opened its 19,000-square-foot Virginia Beach production center on Oct. 1, 2026, naming it the Thomas R. Richards Warfare Development Center. The veteran-owned defense manufacturer expects the facility to add advanced manufacturing capacity and jobs in Hampton Roads, with an emphasis on hiring veterans and reserve service members.

The Virginia Beach location will serve as ViDARR’s manufacturing hub. Its Portsmouth, New Hampshire, site will remain the company’s research and development center, allowing ViDARR to move systems from design and testing into production within the company.

Two programs will anchor the new center. The vFORGE is a deployable drone production laboratory housed in an ISU-90 container. It is intended to let users manufacture, repair and modify unmanned systems without returning them to a factory. The REAVERS small unmanned aircraft system uses a modular, solderless design and can be assembled in less than 30 minutes without specialized tools.

Center honors Richards’ service

Richards, known as “Hulk” in the SEAL community, commanded SEAL Team ONE from 1986 to 1988 and Naval Special Warfare Command from 1996 to 1999. He retired after 30 years in the Navy and died in September 2025.

Richards received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star with Combat “V” for his actions after his platoon was ambushed in Vietnam. The Navy upgraded the valor award to the Silver Star in 2023. His widow, Jacky Richards, and other family members attended the Virginia Beach dedication.

Byrd previously served as a Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewman and at Naval Special Warfare Development Group. Richards later mentored him at Juliet Marine Systems.