It is an enormous box-shaped grey building in the middle of a sprawling Belfast industrial estate.
Workers spill out of the main entrance at lunchtime; no one has permission to speak about what goes on behind its walls.
This is the Thales UK missile factory in the east of the city, which has been awarded a £1.16 billion contract to manufacture more than 5,000 missiles for Ukraine’s armed forces.
A Union flag flies outside the French-owned company that UK prime minister Keir Starmer confirmed on Sunday will produce air defence missiles which will “be vital for protecting critical infrastructure and strengthen Ukraine in securing the peace when it comes”.
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The deal will create an additional 200 jobs.
Two young men dressed in overalls work close to the factory and shrug their shoulders when asked about the latest development.
“We’ve worked over here for three years – since the war began – and every few weeks you’ll see the protesters outside,” says one.
“I live round here but haven’t heard really anyone talk [about] this new order, I suppose it’s good for jobs,” the other adds.
Within 24 hours of Sunday’s announcement, Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill said she was “incredulous” at the money being spent on the order during a period of austerity.
“I think at a time like that, rather than buying weapons of war, I would rather see the money invested in public services,” she told the Stormont Assembly chamber.
The Belfast-manufactured lightweight-multirole missiles (LMM) will be capable of flying at 1.5 times the speed of sound and striking targets more than 6km away. They will be used to attack Russian enemy vehicles, boats and drones.
DUP East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson has described the move as “hugely significant” for the Belfast workforce.
But retired healthcare worker Helen Martin says she is “disappointed” at the news.
She lives a short distance from the factory – before the Thales takeover in 2001 it was called Shorts Missile Systems, with locals still referring to it as ‘Shorts’ – and believes “there’s enough war”.
“We need peace but not peace at a cost with other people’s lives,” she adds.
“So I very much agree with Michelle O’Neill. We need money for our services. The health service is on its knees at the moment – I can’t even access services myself.
“I worked on the cancer wards for 18 years and discovered what life was all about. I’ve seen so much loss.
“It’s sad because we’ve seen enough troubles in our land and there’s people still very much suffering from it.”
Following the lunchtime rush at a nearby cafe, engineers wearing Thales fleeces are overheard joking with a manager who asks if they’ve “been to space”.
As they head back to work, a regular customer speaks quietly about police being called to a protest outside the factory last Friday.
“The protests are always peaceful, and they come in for coffee,” she adds.
“I think this deal is good for jobs, they’re bringing in extra workers but I don’t think everybody’s happy. There’s mixed feelings about the contract but people are too scared to say anything.”
Another customer described the deal as “horrendous”.
“On the one hand we’re saying, we’re keeping so many people in jobs and on the other, we’re wondering how many lives are going to taken by this,” she says.
“It’s bombs, it’s not confetti that’s going to be coming out of that factory.
“I don’t agree with any of it, I really don’t.
“We have enough going on in this country, especially with the health service. The NHS is falling apart. Who is fighting to stand up for us?”
