infrastructureScore 50/100Research
VAST prioritizing domestic manufacturing and in-house system design to reduce supply chain risk and accelerate development velocity vs. outsourcing to traditional aerospace suppliers
Max Haot· Launcher / Vast· Space· 2026-05-20· about VAST
“We have great supply chain, great IT. We need to have great manufacturing and machine shop, great quality department. So we have an engineering core and then we have support functions, some are external, most of them are internal... It's obviously hard as you're building, rebuilding the team, the design, the facilities at the same time.”
Why it matters
VAST is building internal manufacturing and supply chain capabilities to avoid traditional aerospace supplier delays and dependencies. This represents a significant capex commitment to facilities, machine tools, and skilled labor in Long Beach.
Investment implication
CNC machine tool suppliers, precision metrology equipment vendors, and advanced manufacturing software providers could see demand spikes from VAST's facility buildout. Traditional aerospace suppliers may lose outsourcing work. This trend mirrors SpaceX's vertical integration playbook.