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InvestmentTech

Motor-Maker Westmag Emerges From Stealth 

We write about drones, self-guided missiles, robots, and all of the other tech taking over the battlefield of the future every day. What we write about less are the overlooked-but-critical subcomponents inside each of them. Ya know, the stuff that actually makes them work. A big part of that is because there aren’t a whole […]

Investment

Shifters Raises $10.2M Seed for Ground Robots

Big week for robotics around here, huh? This morning, US-Israeli robotics startup Shifters announced that it’s raised a $10.2M seed round led by Ace Capital Partners, bringing total funding to $15M. Other participants in the round include Aurelius Capital Management, Corner Ventures, and Arkin Capital. The company says the money will accelerate the development of […]

Tech

Exclusive: Powerus Teams Up With Swarmer

A formal US-Ukraine drone deal has yet to be finalized, but that hasn’t stopped companies from inking partnerships of their own.  In an exclusive release to Tectonic this morning, US-based drone company Powerus and US-Ukrainian UAV software company Swarmer announced a partnership to explore integrating Swarmer’s swarming tech with Powerus’ “air and maritime platforms, mission […]

InvestmentTech

Motorola Snaps Up C-UAS Startup D-Fend Solutions for $1.5B

If you’ve taken a look at the summer events calendar and are worried about how hostile drones could throw a wrench into all of the FIFA World Cup and America 250 festivities, you’re not alone. The big players in public safety are, too, and they’re making some money moves to make sure it all goes […]

PentagonTech

Forterra and Oshkosh Score $92M Order for ROGUE-Fires

It’s always a good sign when the customer comes back for more. Yesterday, ground autonomy hotshot Forterra announced that they’ve (along with prime partner Oshkosh Defense) scored a Block 2 production contract from the Marine Corps for their Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary Fires (ROGUE-Fires) system. The award consists of two orders—134 units already […]

Investment

Mach Industries Raises $300M at $1.8B Valuation

True to its name, Mach Industries is moving speedy quick, and investors are lining up to add fuel to the fire. A little more than a week after announcing the $50M acquisition of propulsion system and solid rocket motor-maker Exquadrum, the Huntington Beach startup announced late yesterday that it’s closed a $300M Series C co-led […]

Tech

Exclusive: Deterrence and General Dynamics Team Up

Turns out even the primes want a factory of the future.  This morning, automated manufacturing startup Deterrence announced in an exclusive release to Tectonic that they’re entering into a teaming agreement with General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GDOTS). Deterrence will deploy software and AI-enabled capabilities for “facility optimization, intelligent automation, and factory integration” across […]

Europe

Helsing Officially Launches Area 9, Pushes into Robotics

Well, the dudes (and dudettes) in Germany are diving headfirst into the research game.  This morning, German defense tech giant Helsing officially unveiled a new research division it’s calling Area 9, a pie-in-the-sky incubator for European defense tech. Think of it as the Moonshot Factory or Skunk Works, but make it European. As part of […]

PentagonTech

Seven Companies Advance to the Navy’s MUSV Prototype Phase

It’s no secret that the Navy wants drone boats, and they want them fast. Well, now we know who’s (probably) going to be building them.  Over the weekend, the service named the seven companies—including Saronic, HavocAI (through PacMar Technologies), and Sea Machines—selected to advance to the prototype stage of the medium unmanned surface vessel (MUSV) […]

Pentagon

AV Scores $20M AFRL Contract for Ceramic Materials

We talk a lot about all the zoom and go boom hardware around here, but we don’t spend a lot of time talking about the stuff used to make it. That changes today.  Yesterday, AV (the artist formerly known as AeroVironment) announced that it has been awarded a ceramics advanced materials and processes (CAMP) contract […]