The Colorado Economic Development Commission on Wednesday authorized about $5.4 million in incentives for two companies considering doing business in El Paso County, including one that expects to create 500 local jobs.

Both companies will support state economic goals by creating jobs in the aerospace and defense sector, Mike Landes, the senior manager of business development for the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, said at the EDC’s monthly meeting.

“This is a sector we’ve seen grow rapidly within Colorado. This is clearly something we know that we specialize in,” he said.

Project Falcon II

State economic officials approved the bulk of the total award, $4.9 million in job growth tax incentives, for an unnamed company referred to as Project Falcon II. The EDC often assigns code names to protect companies’ confidentiality throughout the competitive process of attracting business to Colorado.

Specializing in information technology, engineering and cybersecurity solutions for commercial and government clients across the U.S., the company plans to expand its footprint across multiple facilities, the EDC said. This expansion will support Project Falcon II’s IT engineering capabilities, research and development initiatives, communication and networking devices, cybersecurity tools and solutions, and software development capabilities, EDC documents state.

Project Falcon II expects to create 500 jobs at an average annual salary of $130,482, about 200% of the average yearly wage in El Paso County. Positions include network and infrastructure engineers, software engineers, cyber systems analysts, systems administrators and computer systems technicians. 

The company currently has 168 employees and 110 of them are in Colorado. 

If Project Falcon II selects Colorado, its tax incentives will be appropriated over eight years on condition of jobs created.

The company is also considering Henderson, Nev., the EDC said.

Project Short Circuit

The commission on Wednesday also approved $487,688 in job growth incentive tax credits for Project Short Circuit.

The unnamed company is developing electromagnetic warfare solutions that can disrupt communications as well as drone and systems navigation networks, state officials said. The company wants to open a physical office location and establish micro-manufacturing capabilities over the next three to five years.

As well as El Paso County, the company behind the project is considering Arkansas and Florida.

Project Short Circuit is expected to create 42 jobs with an average yearly wage of $103,571, which is 159% of the average annual wage in El Paso County. Jobs include engineers, managers and accounting roles. 

The company has three employees currently, one of whom is in Colorado.

Similarly, if Project Short Circuit chooses Colorado, it will receive tax incentives over a period of eight years. The company must create jobs to receive the credits.