Firehawk hits $1.4B valuation with $150M round to break US rocket-motor duopoly
What's the deal? Firehawk Aerospace, a Dallas-based maker of rocket motors and propellant, has raised $150 million in a late-stage round that values it at more than $1.4 billion. Advent InternationalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Kyle Bass' Rochefort Asset Management co-led the round, with repeat backer 1789 CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → — the Donald Trump Jr.-backed venture firm — also participating.
What's the endgame? Firehawk is targeting high-volume munitions under 13 inches, including 155mm artillery base-bleed motors and Hydra-70 rockets. Its continuous thermoplastic process molds propellant cores within hours, versus the weeks legacy suppliers spend mixing and curing.
Why now? US rocket-motor production has long been dominated by a duopoly of L3Harris and Northrop Grumman, leaving shortages in tactical munitions. Firehawk aims to become the largest producer of artillery motors and third-largest of rocket propellant by weight in the US by the end of 2027.
Where the money goes: The capital will expand Firehawk's 320-acre Great Plains Arsenal in Lawton, Oklahoma, and an integration facility in Crawford, Mississippi. The Oklahoma site should reach low-rate production by mid-2027 before scaling to tens of thousands of motors per month by late next year.
What could go wrong? Firehawk plans to produce over 100,000 artillery motors next year under a commercial agreement with General Dynamics, selling first to allied nations while running a 12-to-18-month qualification process for the US Army. Those targets depend on facility ramp-up and qualification that have yet to happen.
The signal: The deal sits in the top 5% of all-time late-VC rounds in US security startups.
Read more: ca.marketscreener.com
Image credit: Firehawk Aerospace
