Firestorm Labs raises $82 million to get drone factory up and running

In the Pacific conflict, the nearest U.S. drone factory is thousands of miles away. Ships and planes carrying parts to the front lines are vulnerable to attack. Defense startup Firestorm Labs believes the answer is a drone factory that fits inside a shipping container.

The company announced Wednesday that it has raised $82 million in Series B funding led by Washington Harbor Partners with participation from NEA, Ondas, In-Q-Tel, Lockheed Martin, Booz Allen Ventures, Geodesic, Motley Fool Ventures and others, bringing the total raised to $153 million.

Firestorm didn’t start out as a factory company. The company started as a drone manufacturer, but when customers started demanding production closer to the front lines, the founders saw an opportunity to pivot.

Dan Magy, CEO of Firestorm Labs, is a serial defense technology entrepreneur. His co-founders have complementary backgrounds. Chad McCoy is a special operations veteran and CTO Ian Museus has more than a dozen patents in 3D printing.

The San Diego-based startup is developing xCell, a containerized manufacturing platform that can print drone systems within 24 hours. Drones do not have a single purpose. Depending on the mission, it can be configured for surveillance or electronic warfare, Maisie told TechCrunch. Asked if the platform was capable of lethal operations, McGee admitted it was possible. All platforms will be handed over to the unified Department of Defense Operations Command and deployed in accordance with military doctrine.

It’s not just startups like Firestorm that are getting attention. The Department of Defense has designated logistics, which keeps weapons and supplies moving during conflicts, as one of only six nationally critical technology areas. Firestorm generates revenue through hardware sales and government contracts across all branches of the U.S. military. The Air Force contract has a cap of $100 million, but only $27 million has been obligated so far.

This technology is already in use. Currently, two xCell units are deployed in the country. One is at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, New York, and the other is at Air Force Special Operations Command in Florida, McGee said. Firestorm did not say which forces in the Indo-Pacific region are using xCell, but the company said the platform is operational in the region.

Inside each xCell container is an industrial-grade HP 3D printer that prints the body and shell of each drone. Under the agreement, Firestorm has a five-year, worldwide exclusive agreement with HP to use industrial 3D printing technology in its mobile deployment units, McGee said. McGee said the weapons themselves will not be 3D printed and will be added separately. The Army also uses xCell to print replacement parts for Bradley Fighting Vehicles in the field, parts that would otherwise take months to procure, the CEO noted.

The problem is deep-rooted and transcends distance. Fixed manufacturing sites themselves became targets, and Ukraine learned this vulnerability the hard way. And modern conflicts are progressing rapidly. McGee said lessons learned from Ukraine show that drone designs can change within days, not months.

The Indo-Pacific is the main event for Firestorm, which the company says has some of the most difficult logistical challenges of modern conflict. The startup aims for xCell to reach full operational deployment there, “ideally within the next two years,” Magy told TechCrunch.