Aerospace Marketing in St. Louis
Aerospace product and parts makers in the St. Louis metro employed 15,745 people across 17 establishments in 2023, and Boeing's defense business is headquartered here once more. We help aerospace and defense suppliers, machine shops, coatings and composites firms and engineering services companies in the region win program work with capability websites, LinkedIn and Google campaigns, and RFQ tracking that lasts through long supplier qualification.
Local aerospace landscape
The defense headquarters returns
On February 18, 2026, Boeing made its St. Louis site the home office of its Defense, Space & Security unit, moving it back from Arlington, Virginia; the unit had been based in St. Louis from 1997 to 2017. Boeing's own fact box puts its regional headcount above 18,000, with work spanning military aircraft and munitions production, sustainment, Phantom Works prototyping and virtual warfare centers.
New fighters, new plants
Boeing says the U.S. Air Force announced in March 2025 that the company will design, build and deliver the F-47 sixth-generation fighter, and its Missouri hiring page mentions a new $1.8 billion facility for digital engineering and aviation. To make room, Super Hornet Service Life Modification work is moving elsewhere, with St. Louis-based SLM work ending in 2027.
A concentrated industry
Three aircraft manufacturing establishments in the metro employed 13,524 people in 2023, and St. Louis County alone counted six aerospace establishments with 14,804 workers. With so much employment in a few large plants, smaller suppliers depend on being easy for those buyers to find. The region's roots run deep: Saint Louis University says it was the nation's first federally certified flight school.
Aerospace supplier challenges
Qualification takes patience
Supplier approval can stretch across many months and several departments, so consistent, useful follow-up keeps your shop visible the whole way through.
Security and certifications
Buyers check quality approvals and export control readiness first. Present that information clearly without publishing anything sensitive about programs or customers.
Competing for skilled hires
With a large prime hiring nearby, your careers content has to show machinists and engineers why your shop is worth choosing.
Services for aerospace suppliers
Areas we serve
We support aerospace and defense suppliers working from locations such as:
- Downtown St. Louis
- Clayton
- Central West End
- Soulard
- The Hill
- Kirkwood
- Webster Groves
- Chesterfield
- St. Charles
- University City
Questions and answers
It put Boeing Defense, Space & Security leadership back in St. Louis alongside more than 18,000 Boeing employees in the region. We cannot speak for Boeing's sourcing decisions, but nearby suppliers have a clear reason to stress proximity, capacity and responsiveness in their marketing.
Yes. Much aerospace work flows through tiers of smaller suppliers, and a focused shop with the right approvals can win steady orders. We build sites and campaigns that make your processes and approvals easy for buyers to verify.
LinkedIn for specific roles at target companies, Google for engineers researching processes and materials, email for long qualification cycles, and trade events tied into the same CRM so every contact made at a booth gets followed up.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 County Business Patterns: St. Louis, MO-IL metro area
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 County Business Patterns: St. Louis County and St. Charles County, MO (aerospace and physician offices with employment)
- Boeing: Boeing Defense, Space & Security headquarters returns to St. Louis (February 18, 2026)
- Boeing news release: Super Hornet Service Life Modification work relocating as the St. Louis site expands (September 24, 2025)
- Boeing Careers: Boeing in Missouri
- Saint Louis University: Saint Louis University history
Checked 2026-10-31.