Firestorm Labs raises $82 million to take drone factories into the field

In the Pacific conflict, the nearest American drone factory is thousands of miles away. Ships and aircraft carrying parts to the front lines will be vulnerable to attack. Defense startup Firestorm Labs thinks the answer is a drone factory that can fit 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 its total funding to $153 million.

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

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

The San Diego-based startup makes xCell, a containerized manufacturing platform that can print drone systems in less than 24 hours. Drones are not restricted to one purpose. Depending on mission requirements, it can be configured for surveillance or electronic warfare, Magee told TechCrunch. When asked whether these platforms are capable of carrying out lethal operations, Magee confirmed that they are. All platforms are turned over to the Department of Defense’s operational commands, which deploy them in accordance with military doctrine.

It’s not just startups like Firestorm that are taking notice. The Pentagon has made contested logistics – keeping weapons and supplies moving under fire – one of only six important national technology areas. Firestorm generates revenue through hardware sales and government contracts across all branches of the U.S. military. The Air Force contract carries a cap of $100 million, although only $27 million has been committed so far.

This technology has already seen real-world use. Currently, two xCell modules are deployed locally; One is with the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, New York, and the other is with Air Force Special Operations Command in Florida, Magee said. Firestorm declined to specify which units in the Indo-Pacific region are using xCell, though the company says the platform is operational in the region.

Inside each xCell enclosure is an industrial-grade HP 3D printer that prints the body and shell of each drone. Under the deal, Firestorm has an exclusive five-year global franchise with HP to use industrial 3D printing technology in mobile publishing units, Magee said. The weapons themselves are not 3D printed and are added separately, according to Magee. The Army also used xCell to print replacement parts for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle on site, parts that would otherwise take months to procure, the CEO noted.

The problem goes deeper than distance. Fixed manufacturing sites are themselves targets, a weakness that Ukraine learned the hard way. The modern conflict is moving quickly. Lessons learned from Ukraine show that drone designs can change in a matter of days, not months, Magee said.

For Firestorm, the Indo-Pacific region is the key event, where the company says the logistical challenges of modern conflict are the hardest to solve. The startup aims to have xCell reach full operational deployment there, “ideally within the next two years,” Magee told TechCrunch.