Ex-Pentagon chief's counter-drone startup FPF Defense lands RSE and Ondas backing
What's the deal? RSE VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and OndasDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (NASDAQ: ONDS) have co-led an early-stage strategic investment in FPF Defense, a startup building a counter-drone system. Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal was led by Nick Perkins, senior vice president of defense and industrialization at RSE Ventures.
Who's behind it? FPF is led by chief executive officer Christopher C. Miller, a former acting Secretary of Defense. Its chief technology officer is Dr. Jeff Maas, a former DARPADealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → program manager, and Grant Fox, formerly of the US Navy and the Defense Innovation Unit, serves as chief operating officer.
What's the endgame? FPF is developing SmartFlak, a counter-unmanned aerial system that includes the Hammerhead kinetic interceptor, engineered to destroy one-way attack drones.
Why now? The system targets a cost-asymmetry problem in air defense. Shahed-class attack drones cost adversaries roughly $50,000 each, while legacy missile interceptors can cost millions of dollars per shot. FPF says its Hammerhead is built for a cost per shot in the low tens of thousands.
Where's the money going? FPF plans to accelerate development and production of Hammerhead, establish US-based manufacturing with a domestically compliant supply chain, and expand its engineering team.
Making a move. FPF will relocate its headquarters to West Palm Beach, Florida, where both RSE Ventures and Ondas are based. The startup joins RSE's defense portfolio alongside Performance Drone Works, a maker of Group 1-3 unmanned aerial systems.
Why the backers care. "Ondas is focused on solving the most critical challenges in autonomous and counter-drone warfare," said Eric Brock, chief executive officer of Ondas. "FPF cleared that bar immediately with a proven team, a disruptive cost advantage, and a mission-critical capability that the nation requires at scale."
The signal: As drone warfare reshapes modern conflict, investors are backing startups that can flip the economics of defense — countering cheap attack drones without spending millions per shot.
Read more: StreetInsider
Image credit: drsmith7383 (Openverse)
