block-air-factory

Air Factory is a production building that constructs flying units in Mindustry. Introduced in the Version 6.0 update, it serves as the airborne counterpart to ground unit factories and integrates into factory lines that produce pilots and airborne combat or support units. It requires research to unlock, and its research cost was reduced in a later patch (Build 147.1), with copper cost dropping from 1900 → 900 and lead from 2200 → 1100.

The Air Factory operates similarly to other unit-producing blocks: it consumes the required items for the selected flying unit and, after a build time, spawns the unit on the map. Like other unit factories, it maintains an internal storage buffer and will hold up to double the production cost of the unit it produces — this allows the building to queue or batch production when fed with larger supplies of the necessary materials.

Practical notes and usage tips:

• Place Air Factories near aerial transit routes or close to fronts where flying units are needed; their ability to produce units on demand makes them valuable for rapid response.
• Feed the factory with consistent supplies of the exact item costs for the desired air unit to avoid production stalls. Because the factory can store up to twice the unit cost, periodic bulk deliveries (conveyor, router, or payload conveyors) can keep it producing without constant micro-management.
• Research requirements must be met before building; check the tech tree for prerequisites and plan resource allocation accordingly. The reduced research cost in Build 147.1 makes unlocking the factory less resource-intensive than at launch.
• Positioning matters: like other production buildings, the Air Factory’s output depends on available space for spawned units and safe exit paths — avoid enclosing it where produced flyers might collide with map geometry or friendly structures.