The future of manufacturing drones might be changing.
What’s happening:
- San Diego, California based drone startup Firestorm Labs has raised $12M USD in a new funding round to accelerate the development of 3D printing drones for military purposes
The big idea:
- Firestorm Labs is building miniature 3D drone printing facilities that can fit inside a shipping container
- By having a small operational footprint, Firestorm Labs is aiming to be able to rapidly build and deploy drones for combat purposes in remote locations where having larger manufacturing infrastructure would be impossible
- Firestorm’s small portable 3D printing facilities, which are known as an xCell, can produce one new drone per day by leveraging additive manufacturing, automation and robotics
By the numbers:
- Firestorm’s flagship drone known as the Tempest is 6 feet long and can carry payloads of up to 55 pounds
Going deeper:
- Firestorm Labs has multiple notable backers, including Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and even the Pentagon
- Military technology company Red Cat Holdings (NASDAQ: RCAT) also previously invested in Firestorm
