Two Firehawk stories in a week? We promise we’re not hawking Firehawk (bada bing), but the 3D-printed propellant and hybrid and solid rocket motor startup is kinda on fire.
On Wednesday, Firehawk announced a $60M Series C funding round, led by 1789 Capital with participation from Presto Tech Horizons—a joint venture between Czech VC Presto Ventures and the Czechoslovak Group (CSG), a big-time Czech ammunition and military equipment manufacturer. Pack your bags, this hawk’s flying across the pond.
Rapid fire: In case you didn’t read Monday’s edition of Tectonic (shame!), here’s what you missed:
- Firehawk announced a $4M AFWERX contract that’ll fund development and hot-fire tests of their 3D-printed, thermoplastic-based propellant.
- That propellant, which CEO Will Edwards said cuts the typically expensive and time-intensive production down from “a 60-day process down to six hours” through 3D printing and super-fast curing, enables Firehawk to make rocket motors much faster than traditional methods (and the primes that dominate the market).
- Right now, Edwards is focused on “perfecting propellant, because that’s the foundation of everything. If you perfect the propellant, you can build the motors, and if you can build the motors, you can build the missile systems. Everything after that’s commoditized.”
Feeling hawkish: Edwards hinted last week in an interview with Tectonic that they had “been able to build international partners that have come and seen what we’re doing and how rapidly we’re doing it, and they were pretty amazed.” Now that we know who that is, teaming up with a major European munitions company could help on the commoditization front.
Here are some of the raise deets:
- Firehawk’s $60M Series C raise at a $290M valuation was led by 1789 Capital, which happens to count Donald Trump Jr. as a partner. That, ya know, probably doesn’t hurt. The round also featured Draper Associates, Decisive Point, Stellar Ventures, and other VCs.
- The deets of Presto Tech Horizons’ (PTH) investment weren’t disclosed, but the company said it “represents a significant commitment to Firehawk’s mission.”
- The purpose of PTH’s investment is to “strengthen Europe’s ability to locally source critical elements of the munitions supply chain—boosting resilience and ensuring sustained defense readiness for NATO and allied forces,” according to Firehawk.
“We want to create good partnerships with funds and primes like Presto Tech Horizons and CSG who know the European continent and the dynamics as we look to continue building relationships across the Atlantic,” Edwards told Tectonic. “The need for propellant and solid rocket motors is not confined to one geographic area.”
Opening the Czechbook: This isn’t CSG’s first foray across the pond. In August, the multinational munitions company’s American arm, MSM Group North America, was tapped to design and build the Army’s new $635M Future Artillery Complex (FAC) in Iowa, which CSG said will enable the loading of 36,000 155mm artillery rounds per month.
Judging from CSG’s comments about their investment in Firehawk through PTH, that contract might’ve been on their mind. In a statement, CSG owner Michal Strnad said, “Firehawk can play a crucial role in the future of not only rocket propulsion, but also ammunition production.”
Edwards couldn’t comment on whether CSG’s plans involved using Firehawk’s propellant in munitions production in both Europe and the US, but said the tech translates to a range of things that go fast and explode.
“Firehawk’s innovation allows us to rapidly and cost-effectively produce base bleeds for artillery shells,” Edwards told Tectonic. “In addition, the same breakthroughs in propellant design and manufacturing that make rocket motors more efficient can also be applied to artillery charges—unlocking rapid, reliable, and scalable ammunition production.”
PTH partner Matej Luhový, meanwhile, told Tectonic, “We’re currently exploring concrete ways for Firehawk and CSG to partner.”
For now, the partnership is focused on Europe’s munition-making, but given CSG’s global reach, this partnership looks like it could go way beyond a Czech check. It’s always heartwarming to see US defense tech startups making new friends on the old continent.