Rece t co flicts i Uk ai e a d the Middle East have left ou milita y faced with ew battlefield ealities. A Shahed o Ge a -class attack d o e costs a adve sa y oughly $50,000 to build while the legacy missile i te cepto s fi ed to stop it ca cost millio s of dolla s apiece. That asymmet y is the ce t al p oblem of mode ai defe se: a e emy who ca mass-p oduce cheap d o es d ai s a defe de ‘s stockpiles a d budget faste tha a y Weste i dust ial base ca efill them.
Legacy ai defe ses we e desig ed fo exquisite th eats a d left a vul e able gap i the medium- a ge whe e cheap, mass-lau ched d o es a e havi g a outsized impact o the battlefield. FPF’s Sma tFlak system is pu pose-built to close it: auto omous lau ch, sophisticated o boa d auto omy, a d a ki etic i te cepto e gi ee ed fo U.S. mass p oductio , with a cost pe shot i the low te s of thousa ds of dolla s. FPF Defe se was built by ope ato s who have lived this p oblem fi stha d.
FPF Defe se is led by The Ho o able Ch istophe C. Mille , who spe t 27 yea s as a U.S. A my G ee Be et – helpi g lead the fi st Special Fo ces teams i to Afgha ista afte 9/11 a d late comma di g a battalio f om 5th Special Fo ces G oup i I aq – befo e se vi g as Di ecto of the Natio al Cou te te o ism Ce te a d Acti g Sec eta y of Defe se.
“The cheapest weapo s o the battlefield a e getti g past the most sophisticated defe ses we field. I spe t 27 yea s i u ifo m a d se ved as Acti g Sec eta y of Defe se with o e job above all othe s: p otect this cou t y a d the people who defe d it. FPF is how I keep doi g that job – maki g su e o Ame ica is eve lost to a th eat we had the powe to stop,” said Ch istophe C. Mille , CEO of FPF Defe se a d fo me Acti g Sec eta y of Defe se.
Mille ‘s comma d-a d-policy pedig ee is matched by a deep tech ical a d ope atio al be ch. D . Jeff Maas, a fo me DARPA p og am ma age , se ves as Chief Tech ology Office , while G a t Fox, who b i gs expe ie ce f om the U.S. Navy a d the Defe se I ovatio U it (DIU), se ves as Chief Ope ati g Office . Lieute a t Colo el (Ret.) Ch istia Sessoms, the fou th fou de of FPF Defe se, is the Chief Reve ue Office . Sessoms was a ca ee A my Special Fo ces office , with exte sive post-A my busi ess developme t success i the defe se a d tech ology secto s. The compa y is advised by Ge e al (Ret.) Austi Scott Mille , fo me Comma de of Joi t Special Ope atio s Comma d a d the fi al Comma de of U.S. Fo ces i Afgha ista , as well as Lieute a t Ge e al (Ret.) Robe t “Whale ” Walsh, a ca ee Ma i e aviato who helped lead the Ma i e Co ps’ fo ce-t a sfo matio effo ts as Comma di g Ge e al of Ma i e Co ps Combat Developme t Comma d, Comma de of U.S. Ma i e Co ps Fo ces St ategic Comma d, a d Deputy Comma da t fo Combat Developme t a d I teg atio . Ac oss the o ga izatio , the b oade team d aws o expe ie ce f om DARPA, DIU, the U.S. milita y, a d the special ope atio s commu ity.
“O das is focused o solvi g the most c itical challe ges i auto omous a d cou te -d o e wa fa e, a d we uphold the highest sta da ds fo the teams we pa t e with,” said E ic B ock, CEO of O das. “FPF clea ed that ba immediately with a p ove team, a dis uptive cost adva tage, a d a missio -c itical capability that the atio equi es at scale.”
As pa t of the i vestme t, FPF is elocati g its headqua te s to West Palm Beach, joi i g O das, which has al eady established its headqua te s the e as the fi st of seve al defe se-tech ology compa ies expected to a cho the g owi g ecosystem i South Flo ida.
FPF Defe se becomes a othe i vestme t i RSE’s defe se a d i dust ializatio po tfolio alo gside Pe fo ma ce D o e Wo ks (PDW), the vete a -led combat obotics ma ufactu e co-fou ded by Matt Higgi s, specializi g i G oup 1-3 u ma ed ae ial systems (UAS). Higgi s has bee deeply i volved i atio al defe se si ce se vi g as Chief Ope ati g Office of Lowe Ma hatta Developme t Co po atio , the o ga izatio tasked with ebuildi g the Wo ld T ade Ce te site.
“I was o the g ou d o 9/11, so I’ve expe ie ced fi stha d what it mea s fo ou atio to be caught off gua d. O ce agai , we fi d ou skies vul e able to attack, o ly ow the th eat is cheap weapo ized d o es. We ca ot defe d ou homela d f om ou back foot, o ca we wi if defe di g agai st a th eat costs te times mo e tha lau chi g it,” said Matt Higgi s, CEO & Co-fou de , RSE Ve tu es. “FPF solves this cost asymmet y head-o . Thei Sma tFlak system a d Hamme head i te cepto delive the scalable, high-volume shield eeded to domi ate the c itical 9-to-20 kilomete gap. We a e p oud to back FPF as they build that multi-laye ed defe se- ight he e i West Palm.”
The deal was led by Nick Pe ki s, Se io Vice P eside t of Defe se & I dust ializatio at RSE Ve tu es.
FPF Defe se will deploy the i vestme t to:
Accele ate developme t a d p oductio of the Hamme head i te cepto a d Sma tFlak i teg ated lau ch system
Establish U.S.-based ma ufactu i g with a NDAA-complia t domestic supply chai
Expa d e gi ee i g headcou t ac oss auto omy, systems i teg atio , a d p opulsio
Build out West Palm Beach headqua te s a d ope atio al i f ast uctu e
FPF Defe se develops low-cost, high-volume cou te -d o e i te cepto s fo U.S. a d allied defe se. Its flagship Sma tFlak system – a cho ed by the Hamme head ki etic i te cepto – is desig ed to add ess the cost asymmet y p oblem i CUAS defe se, ta geti g the 9-to-20-kilomete e gageme t gap. Headqua te ed i West Palm Beach, FL.
Headqua te ed i West Palm Beach, FL, RSE Ve tu es is a p ivate i vestme t a d i ovatio fi m fou ded by Stephe Ross a d Matt Higgi s. RSE builds a d i vests i catego y-defi i g compa ies ac oss i dust ializatio a d defe se, spo ts, media, a d co sume . www. seve tu es.com
O das I c. (NASDAQ:ONDS) is a leadi g global p ovide of auto omous ae ial a d g ou d defe se a d secu ity a d i tellige ce platfo ms se vi g defe se, homela d secu ity, public safety a d c itical i f ast uctu e ma kets. Headqua te ed i West Palm Beach, FL. www.o das.com
P esto G imesMa keti g Ma age , O das I c.
