On June 15, 2026, shovels hit the dirt on more than 600 acres outside Greensboro, North Carolina — and with them, a bet that America can do something it hasn’t done in generations: build an all-new commercial airplane, from scratch, on American soil. JetZero, the aerospace startup behind the radical blended-wing Z4 jet, broke ground on its first manufacturing and final assembly campus, an 8-million-square-foot factory that the company says will become the most advanced aircraft plant of its kind anywhere in the world.
This is exactly the kind of story the Buy American Campaign exists to celebrate. It isn’t about preserving the past. It’s about American workers inventing the future of an entire industry — and choosing to build it here.
14,500 Jobs and $4.7 Billion in Investment
The numbers attached to this project are hard to overstate. JetZero’s Greensboro campus is expected to create 14,500 jobs over the next decade, backed by $4.7 billion in investment that will transform the Triad region of North Carolina. State officials confirmed the deal was supported by the largest state-level incentive package ever offered to a startup in any industry.
Those aren’t warehouse jobs or temporary construction gigs that vanish when the ribbon is cut. These are skilled, long-term manufacturing and engineering positions — the kind of work that builds a middle class and roots it in a community for decades. For a region that has watched textile and furniture plants close over the years, a 14,500-job aerospace campus is a generational turnaround.
Construction begins immediately, with hiring expected to ramp in phases as the facility comes online over the next ten years.
What Makes the Z4 Different
The airplane being built in Greensboro doesn’t look like the tube-and-wing jets we’ve all flown in. The Z4 is a blended-wing body, a design where the fuselage and wings merge into one smooth, lifting shape. The result is an aircraft JetZero says will be up to 50 percent more fuel efficient than today’s comparable jets.
The Z4 is aimed at what the industry calls the “middle market” — routes that are underserved today. It’s designed to carry about 250 passengers on trips of up to 5,000 nautical miles. If it delivers on its promise, it could reshape how airlines think about everything from fuel costs to cabin layout.
For the first time in a long time, the most talked-about new shape in commercial aviation is being assembled by American hands, in an American factory.
A Factory Built in the Digital Age
The Greensboro plant isn’t just big — it’s smart. JetZero is working with Siemens and Deloitte to build the facility on advanced digital and AI-native platforms. Engineers built a complete digital twin of the entire factory before a single slab of concrete was poured, letting them test layouts, work flows, and production lines in a virtual model first.
That approach, the company says, will make the Greensboro facility the most efficient and adaptable aircraft plant of its kind in the world. It’s a reminder that “Made in America” in 2026 doesn’t mean old machines and faded glory — it means cutting-edge technology paired with skilled American labor.
Why This Matters for the Buy American Movement
We talk a lot about bringing manufacturing back to the United States. Usually that means reshoring production that left, or supporting heritage brands that never moved. JetZero is something different and just as important: a brand-new American industry being born here, instead of overseas.
It would have been easy — maybe even cheaper in the short term — to chase lower costs abroad. Instead, JetZero chose North Carolina, and North Carolina bet big right back. That’s the kind of partnership between industry, workers, and communities that built American manufacturing in the first place.
The stakes really are huge. If JetZero succeeds, it won’t just employ 14,500 people — it could prove that the next great leaps in aerospace can and should happen on American soil. And every one of those Z4 jets that rolls out of Greensboro will carry the same quiet message we put behind every product we champion: this was made in the USA.
America isn’t just preserving manufacturing. We’re inventing whole new industries — and building them right here at home.
Whenever possible, choose Made in USA.
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