US defence giant Lockheed Martin has announced a $25 million investment in Fortem Technologies, a global airspace security company, as the first tranche of Fortem’s Series B fundraising round. According to a press release from Lockheed Martin, the funding will accelerate Fortem’s production capacity and deepen its integration within Lockheed’s Sanctum counter-UAS ecosystem.
The two companies have an established working relationship, and the investment advances a jointly developed approach to counter-UAS that is now moving into broader operational deployment.
The Threat Landscape
Fortem’s SkyDome Family of Systems combines TrueView radar sensors, command-and-control software, and autonomous DroneHunter interceptors to detect, track, and neutralise hostile drones. The company is the only firm authorised to deploy a drone-on-drone kinetic interceptor in US airspace, and its technology has seen operational use in Ukraine, the Middle East, and East Asia.
What the Executives Said
Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems President Stephanie C. Hill said the collaboration would deliver mission capability aligned to customer demand for rapidly fieldable solutions that scale in volume and evolve as fast as the UAS threat. She added that the partnership reflected a commitment to investing ahead of need, with affordability as a central consideration.
Fortem Technologies CEO Jon Gruen said low-cost autonomous drone threats are scaling faster than traditional defences were designed to handle, and that the work with Lockheed Martin reflects a shared recognition that counter-UAS capabilities need to be autonomous, integrated, and deployable at scale.
Production and Industrial Impact
The investment will enable Fortem to at least double its manufacturing capacity and create new skilled jobs at its production facility in Lindon, Utah. Lockheed also says the deal advances co-development of next-generation AI, edge computing, and high-resolution radar capabilities.
Interoperability and Allied Integration
Fortem’s open-architecture and MOSA-compliant design allows integration with allied air defence networks, joint command-and-control systems, and emerging data links, enabling partner nations to adopt the technology without costly redesigns of existing architectures.
Market Context
The counter-UAS market is projected to exceed $12 billion by 2030. Lockheed says Fortem’s software-driven platform reduces the cost per engagement by more than 80 per cent compared to traditional kinetic interceptors such as missiles and directed energy weapons, while delivering comparable effectiveness against low-observable threats.
Source: Lockheed Martin














