Firehawk Aerospace (“Firehawk”), a defense technology frontrunner focused on advanced energetics and propulsion, has received backing from Presto Tech Horizons (PTH), a distinctive defense and resilience technology fund established through a collaboration between European venture capital firm Presto Ventures and global industrial and technology company CSG (Czechoslovak Group). The oversubscribed $60M financing round was led by 1789 Capital.
Firehawk is trailblazing the world’s first scalable application of 3D printing for propellant and solid rocket motors, enabling faster, safer, and more adaptable manufacture of advanced energetics. The same advances in propellant formulation and production that enhance rocket motor efficiency can also be transferred to artillery charges – unlocking rapid, dependable, and scalable ammunition manufacturing.
Rocket engine propellant – used in missiles and space launch vehicles alike – is presently made by casting into large molds and curing. This slow, dangerous, and inflexible approach can take up to two months and constrains both performance and production tempo.
Firehawk swaps this decades-old technique for additive manufacturing, employing 3D printing to form propellant grains with intricate geometries once considered unattainable. By utilizing relatively low-cost commercial off-the-shelf equipment and novel additive manufacturing techniques, the firm can slash per-unit production times by over 99% compared with conventional methods. This breakthrough makes motors safer to produce, quicker to scale, and versatile across weapon systems, fundamentally altering the energetics supply chain.
Focus on Europe
The intent of the investment in Firehawk is to reinforce Europe’s capacity to locally source vital components of the munitions supply chain – enhancing resilience and ensuring continuous defense readiness for NATO and allied forces. The fund behind the investment, founded on an uncommon partnership between a venture capital firm and a defense prime, builds a bridge between innovation and industry. This alliance speeds the adoption of technologies like Firehawk’s and serves as a fresh model to deliver new defense technologies at scale for swift deployment across allied defense industrial bases.
“The conflict in Ukraine proves that while drones give warfighters a decisive edge, munitions like missiles and rockets are the core of combat power,” says Will Edwards, CEO of Firehawk. “A supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and propellant and energetics production are the biggest bottleneck on missile, rocket, and artillery manufacturing. Empowering the European defense industry to also produce these weapons rapidly and at scale is the heart of Firehawk’s mission. We’re proud to collaborate with Presto Tech Horizons and CSG to help fortify the European energetics supply chain and ensure our allies can fuel the production of critical defense equipment.”
“The current geopolitical situation underscores the need to invest in innovative defense technologies,” says Michal Strnad, Chairman of the Board and owner of CSG. “Firehawk can play a vital role in the future of not only rocket propulsion, but also ammunition manufacture. This pioneering project can strengthen cooperation between leaders of the American and European defense industries.” The parties are already investigating opportunities for industrial deployment of Firehawk’s technologies.
“Since the early 2010s, scientists and engineers have investigated 3D printing as a means to achieve faster, safer, and more flexible solid propellant production. Firehawk is the first to genuinely fulfill that promise. They combine rapid manufacturing with complex grain architectures that were once impossible, enhancing performance while enabling distributed production at scale. Firehawk’s technology doesn’t just accelerate how propellants are produced – it fundamentally reconfigures the supply chain for missiles and rockets. That’s why this partnership is so important for Europe’s defense resilience,” adds Matej Luhovy, newly appointed Partner at Presto Tech Horizons.
Presto Tech Horizons has participated in Firehawk’s oversubscribed $60M Series C financing, which closed this September, as a strategic partner. While the precise amount is undisclosed, the investment signifies a meaningful commitment to Firehawk’s mission. The round was led by 1789 Capital, marking the firm’s entry into defense technology and supporting Firehawk’s shift from R&D and prototyping to production at scale. Other investors include Draper Associates, Decisive Point, Stellar Ventures, and other prominent VCs. As the sole European investor in the round, Presto Tech Horizons helps bring Firehawk’s breakthrough energetics technology closer to allied defense users across Europe.
