Global security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin, widely recognized as the world’s largest defense contractor, has made a $25 million investment in Lindon’s Fortem Technologies.
Fortem specializes in airspace security, providing solutions that protect against autonomous aerial threats. The Lockheed Martin investment represents the initial tranche of Fortem’s Series B fundraising round and will enable Fortem to accelerate production at scale and enhance deployment within Lockheed Martin’s Sanctum counter-UAS ecosystem. Building on an established relationship, the investment advances a jointly developed, integrated approach to counter-UAS that is moving into broader operational deployment.
Fortem said the rapid proliferation of small, cheap and easily acquired unmanned aerial systems has created a new, pervasive threat to military platforms, critical infrastructure and civilian airspace. The new investment round will help in the rapid development and deployment of measures to combat these threats.
“Low-cost, increasingly autonomous drone threats are scaling faster than traditional defenses were designed to handle,” said Fortem Technologies CEO Jon Gruen. “Our work with Lockheed Martin reflects a shared recognition that counter-UAS capabilities need to be autonomous, integrated and deployable at scale. Together, we’re taking technology that has already been proven in operational settings and accelerating its deployment to deliver a stronger, more responsive defense against evolving threats.”
“This strategic collaboration will deliver robust mission capability aligned to our customers’ demand for rapidly fieldable solutions that scale in volume and evolve as fast as the UAS threat,” said Stephanie C. Hill, president of Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems. “This is just the latest example of our commitment to investing ahead of need to deliver at the speed of relevance, and with affordability in mind.”