Firefly Aerospace announced the acquisition of SciTec for approximately $855 million. The agreement includes $300 million in cash and $555 million in Firefly stock, and the transaction is expected to close by the end of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.
Firefly Aerospace announced the acquisition of SciTec for approximately $855 million. The agreement includes $300 million in cash and $555 million in Firefly stock, and the transaction is expected to close by the end of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.
The operation is reported by «Military» with reference to a statement from Firefly. The company explains that SciTec’s developments will strengthen its software capabilities in US national security tasks, in particular for the new Golden Dome missile defense system. Firefly CEO Jason Kim emphasizes that SciTec’s mission-proven solutions and their processing of large data sets provide the military with «rapid, accurate information to enable informed decisions,» and for Firefly this is a step towards integrated, «software-defined» services from launch to operation in orbit.
The company specializes in software and sensor analytics for missile launch warning, target tracking, reconnaissance and surveillance, space awareness, and autonomous control. It combines ground and airborne data processing with artificial intelligence systems for low-latency operations. In the twelve months through June 30, 2025, SciTec had revenue of approximately $164 million; in the spring, the company was awarded a $259 million contract from the U.S. Space Force under the Future Operational Resilient Ground Evolution program, a ground-based data processing upgrade for threat warning and tracking missions. SciTec is based in Princeton, New Jersey, and has five additional sites near key space and defense customers. Upon closing, the company will be managed as a subsidiary by current CEO Jim Lisowski, who will report directly to Jason Kim.
The Pentagon announced in September that it had completed the development and planning phase of a new multi-layered missile defense system, but without disclosing the budget or scope. The first test is scheduled for the end of 2028; Donald Trump has publicly expressed political support for the project. Analysts estimate the technological complexity of the shield: about 950 orbital interceptors may be needed to guarantee the interception of a single intercontinental ballistic missile in space. Therefore, the key is the rapid collection of data from various sensors and their instant processing, where SciTec’s competencies directly coincide with the needs of the program.
The deal reinforces the trend of merging hardware and software in space defense services: Firefly combines launch and landing, lunar and orbital missions, and with the advent of SciTec, adds deep threat analytics, autonomous control loops, and tools for working in «real time» — from ground processing centers to onboard systems that close the «detection-decision-interception» cycle.
Previously, dev.ua wrote about how the value of Firefly Aerospace, founded by Ukrainian Maxim Polyakov, jumped by more than 34% during its debut on the Nasdaq exchange.
