The American company Firehawk Aerospace, which produces rocket engines based on its own 3D-printed fuel, has received investment from the Presto Tech Horizons fund, which previously financed Ukrainian defense startups.
The American company Firehawk Aerospace, which produces rocket engines based on its own 3D-printed fuel, has received investment from the Presto Tech Horizons fund, which previously financed Ukrainian defense startups.
The press release indicates that the $60 million round of investment was led by 1789 Capital, led by partners including Donald Trump Jr.
Firehawk technology enables faster, safer, and more flexible production of advanced energy materials and propulsion systems. It can not only improve the efficiency of rocket engines, but also be used for artillery charges and scale up munitions production.
Propellant for rocket engines, used in both rocket weapons and space rockets, is currently produced by pouring it into large molds and then solidifying it. This is a slow, dangerous, and inflexible process.
Instead, Firehawk uses 3D printing to create solid fuel pellets with complex geometries, which can reduce the manufacturing time per unit by more than 99% compared to traditional methods.
The aim of the investment in Firehawk is to strengthen Europe’s ability to locally secure key elements of the ammunition supply chain — increasing resilience and ensuring a sustainable level of defense readiness for NATO and allied countries.
«As we are seeing now in Ukraine, while drones give soldiers a decisive advantage, it is the munitions—the missiles and shells—that are the core of combat power. A supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and the production of fuel and power components is the greatest constraint on the production of missiles, shells, and artillery,» said Will Edwards, CEO of Firehawk.
According to him, the partnership with Presto Tech Horizons and CSG (Czechoslovak Group) will help strengthen the European supply chain of energy materials.
«Firehawk can play an important role in the future not only of rocket propulsion equipment, but also in the production of ammunition,» says Michal Strnad, Chairman of the Board and owner of CSG.
Matei Lugov, partner at Presto Tech Horizons, noted that Firehawk was the first to combine rapid production with complex pellet shapes that were previously impossible, enhancing performance while simultaneously enabling distributed mass production.
«Firehawk technology not only speeds up the fuel manufacturing process — it fundamentally changes the supply chain for missiles and jet engines. That is why this partnership is so important for Europe’s defense resilience,» he emphasized.
Previously, Presto Tech Horizons funded Ukrainian acoustic locator developer Vidar Systems and Ukrainian navigation platform Bavovna.ai.
