Firehawk Raises $150 Million to Scale a Faster Rocket-Motor Process

Firehawk Defense has raised more than $150 million in a Series D financing to expand domestic production of rocket propellant, motors and artillery components. Advent International and Rochefort Asset Management co-led the round, which Firehawk says values the private company at more than $1.4 billion after the investment.

The financing is aimed at a specific bottleneck in the defense industrial base: propulsion capacity. Firehawk says its thermoplastic process forms propellant in hours rather than the weeks required by traditional cast-and-cure methods. The company produces Hydra-70 rocket motors and is developing base-bleed motors that extend the range of 155mm artillery shells.

Proceeds will support its operational missile-integration facility in Crawford, Mississippi, and the Great Plains Arsenal propellant plant in Lawton, Oklahoma. The Lawton facility is expected to begin commissioning in early 2027 with annual output of 740,000 pounds of thermoplastic propellant. Installed capacity could eventually exceed 3.1 million pounds, but commissioning and scale-up remain future execution milestones rather than current production.

Firehawk also reported a six-for-six Hydra-70 live-fire test after receiving a U.S. Army Other Transaction Authority award in August. It holds a U.S. Air Force solid-rocket-motor development contract and has a teaming arrangement with General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems for base-bleed motors. These relationships provide pathways to qualification and customers, but they are not the same as guaranteed procurement volumes.

The investment reflects a broader effort to rebuild U.S. and allied munitions inventories after heavy expenditure in Ukraine and the Middle East. Rochefort said annual U.S. Army purchases of Hydra-70 rockets have at times exceeded 330,000 units, which illustrates the potential market without proving Firehawk's eventual share.

Because Firehawk is private, public-market investors cannot buy the company directly. The useful signal is that private capital is funding new production methods and capacity alongside established defense contractors. The next evidence points are successful plant commissioning, qualification of the 155mm product and recurring procurement awards at commercial scale.