Addison Rocket Fuel Maker Raises $150 Million for Production Expansion

Firehawk Defense, a rocket propulsion company based in Addison, closed a Series D funding round of more than $150 million on Tuesday. The investment values the company at more than $1.4 billion, marking its arrival as a unicorn in the defense technology sector.

Advent International and Rochefort Asset Management led the round. The company stated that the round was oversubscribed, with participation from other new and existing investors as well as strategic partners. The capital will primarily fund the expansion of production for artillery motors, solid rocket motors, and propellant. Firehawk also plans to use the funds to open additional research and development sites and increase its workforce.

The company’s manufacturing process replaces traditional batch mixing, casting, and curing methods with a thermoplastic process. Traditional methods can take weeks, whereas Firehawk’s process takes hours. The resulting material can be stored and later molded, extruded, or 3D-printed into shapes for various rocket and artillery motors. Founder and CEO Will Edwards said the financing allows the company to turn its manufacturing breakthrough into production capacity for military use.

Firehawk operates a 320-acre propellant and motor production plant in Lawton, Oklahoma, and a missile integration plant in Crawford, Mississippi. It conducts research and testing at two sites in West Texas and currently employs roughly 150 people. By the end of 2027, the company expects to become the largest producer of artillery motors and the third-largest producer of propellant in the United States.

Recent contracts have supported the company’s growth trajectory. In May, General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems signed a deal with Firehawk to speed up the development of 155mm base-bleed motors. In August, Firehawk won a $24 million contract from the Pentagon to expand propellant production for the M1128 artillery projectile. The company also conducted a live-fire test of Hydra-70 rockets at Yuma Proving Ground in August, achieving a 100% success rate.

Will Edwards co-founded the company in 2019 with Steve Edwards and Ronald Jones. At the time, he said investors on both coasts were skeptical of the idea. A $2 million seed round in November 2020 allowed the team to hire initial engineers. Edwards noted that the company chose North Texas for its talent pool and supportive investment environment. Kyle Bass, co-CEO of Rochefort Asset Management, said the investment supports America’s ability to build and replenish weapons systems at the required speed.