Firehawk Aerospace, a developer of advanced energetics and propulsion systems, has secured a strategic investment from Presto Tech Horizons (PTH), a defense and resilience-focused fund created by European VC Presto Ventures in partnership with industrial group CSG (Czechoslovak Group). The funding joined an oversubscribed $60 (€50.84) million Series C round led by 1789 Capital, whose partners include Donald Trump Jr.
The deal advances Firehawk’s work on the first scalable use of additive manufacturing for solid propellants and rocket motors. By replacing slow, hazardous casting-and-curing methods with 3D printing of complex propellant geometries, Firehawk says it can shorten per-unit production time by more than 99% using commercially available equipment and novel manufacturing processes.
The company also argues the same techniques can be applied to artillery charges, potentially enabling faster, safer and more flexible ammunition production.
Focus on European resilience
Matej Luhovy, a newly appointed partner at Presto Tech Horizons, added that while researchers have explored 3D-printed solid propellants for more than a decade, Firehawk is the first to commercialize a solution that combines rapid manufacturing with complex grain designs. “This technology doesn’t just speed propellant production — it reshapes the supply chain for missiles and rockets,” Luhovy said.
Presto Tech Horizons’ investment is explicitly aimed at strengthening Europe’s ability to source critical elements of the munitions supply chain locally to bolster NATO and allied readiness. The fund is designed to accelerate deployment of breakthrough technologies into industrial settings and to scale them across allied defense bases.
Will Edwards, Firehawk’s CEO, framed the investment in strategic terms: the conflict in Ukraine highlights the central role of munitions in modern combat, he said, and production bottlenecks in propellant and energetics are key constraints on missile, rocket and artillery manufacturing. “Enabling the European defense industry to produce these weapons quickly and at scale is the core of Firehawk’s mission,” Edwards said.
Funding participants
Presto Tech Horizons is the only European investor disclosed in the round and joined a list of venture backers supporting Firehawk’s move from R&D toward production at scale. While PTH has not disclosed its exact commitment, the company said the investment is a strategic partnership.
The Series C was led by 1789 Capital and included Draper Associates, Decisive Point, Stellar Ventures and other venture firms. Firehawk says the fresh capital will help accelerate industrialisation of its additive-manufacturing processes and expand deployment opportunities with allied defense users across Europe.
