Firehawk Aerospace has secured an oversubscribed $60 million investment round that was led by 1789 Capital - a venture capital firm led by a partnership group that includes Donald Trump Jr.
Presto Tech Horizons (PTH), a unique defense and resilience tech fund, created through a partnership between European venture capital firm Presto Ventures and global industrial and technology firm CSG (Czechoslovak Group), also contributed to the round.
Firehawk is working to scale the use of 3D printing technology for propellant and solid rocket motors as it aims to enable faster, safer, and more flexible production of advanced energetics. The company's approach can also be applied to artillery charges to facilitate rapid, reliable and scalable ammunition production.
Deeming the casting method for rocket engine propellant manufacture to be slow, hazardous and inflexible, Firehawk is leveraging additive manufacturing to build propellant grains with complex geometries previously thought impossible. By using 'relatively inexpensive' commercial-off-the-shelf equipment and novel additive manufacturing processes, the company says it can reduce per-unit production times by over 99% compared to traditional methods, 'fundamentally transforming the energetics supply chain.'
With this funding, Firehawk is set to focus on enhancing Europe's ability to locally source critical elements of the munitions supply chain, boosting resilience and ensuring sustained defence readiness for NATO and allied forces.
"The conflict in Ukraine proves that while drones give warfighters a decisive edge, munitions like missiles and rockets are the core of combat power," said Will Edwards, CEO of Firehawk. "A supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and propellant and energetics production are the biggest constraint on missile, rocket, and artillery manufacturing. Enabling the European defence industry to also produce these weapons quickly and at scale is the core of Firehawk's mission. We're proud to partner with Presto Tech Horizons and CSG to help bolster the European energetics supply chain and ensure our allies can fuel the production of key defense equipment."
"The current geopolitical situation underscores the need to invest in innovative defence technologies," offered Michal Strnad, Chairman of the Board and owner of CSG. "Firehawk can play a crucial role in the future of not only rocket propulsion, but also ammunition production. This innovative project can strengthen cooperation between leaders of the American and European defense industries." The parties are already exploring opportunities for industrial application of Firehawk's technologies.
"Since the early 2010s, scientists and engineers have explored 3D printing as a way to unlock faster, safer, and more flexible solid propellant production. Firehawk is the first to truly deliver on that promise. They combine rapid manufacturing with complex grain designs that were once impossible, improving performance while enabling distributed production at scale. Firehawk's technology doesn't just speed up how propellants are made – it fundamentally reshapes the supply chain for missiles and rockets. That's why this partnership is so important for Europe's defence resilience," added Matej Luhovy, newly appointed Partner at Presto Tech Horizons.
Earlier this year, Firehawk Aerospace adopted multiple JuggerBot 3D Tradesman Series P3-44 systems as the two companies announced a strategic partnership.
