In 1846, Commander Robert F. Stockton led the U.S. Navy in taking control of San Diego Bay. Born in Princeton, New Jersey, Stockton's grandfather was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He joined the U.S. Navy at 16, becoming the first naval officer to capture ships harboring slaves in West Africa and the Caribbean.
During the Mexican-American War, Commander Stockton played a pivotal role in securing key Californian locations such as Monterey, Los Angeles, San Pasqual, and San Diego. Since then, San Diego has evolved into a military stronghold, housing significant U.S. Navy and Marine Corps operations. During WWII, it became home to the Navy's Pacific Fleet and the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton was established to prepare troops for the Pacific theater.
Today, San Diego continues to be a major military hub, now also nurturing cutting-edge defense startups like @Firestorm_Labs. This innovative company is revolutionizing UAS manufacturing by reducing traditional lengthy development cycles and production constraints. @Firestorm_Labs allows for UAS manufacturing at one-fifth the traditional cost and ten times faster, enabling distributed manufacturing beyond large-scale production facilities.
Products:
@Firestorm_Labs is has developed the "Tempest," a UAS with a modular architecture that features "multiple launch and recovery modalities." This UAS, which can be transported by a single person, has a 10-pound payload capacity, a 7-foot wingspan, and a maximum takeoff weight of 55 pounds.
Furthermore, they have introduced the "Logistics XCELL," an "expeditionary manufacturing cell" that fits within a 40 ft. container and can produce 50 units per month off-grid, showcasing @Firestorm_Labs' advanced additive manufacturing capabilities.
The company's products are powered by the "Octra," the chip that runs all Firestorm vehicles (10-1,000 pounds) acting as flight controller, mission computer, and vehicle management system. This technology integrates with "AI autopilots, GPS denied navigation, terrain following, automatic target recognition, broad payload offerings, a wide and expanding array of sensor options, numerous data links/communications integrations," and is supported by "component multi-sourcing."
@Firestorm_Labs is a major player in the $31B UAS market and the $14.5B additive manufacturing market. Founded by @DanMagy (CEO), former CEO of Citadel Defense Company, Ian Muceus (CTO), ex-Aerospace and Defense Solutions lead at Stratasys, and Chad McCoy (CSO), a former pararescue man and Chief Master Sergeant at the Joint Special Operations Command, the company has raised a $12.5M seed round from notable investors including @decisivepointvc, @CubitCapital, @TheVeteranFund, and Lockheed Martin Ventures. They recently opened a 14,000 square foot HQ in San Diego.