Welcome back to the #55 edition of The New Defense Post!

In this edition, we'll cover:

The Acutronic Group serves as the hidden backbone to much of the aerospace & defense industry, delivering the picks and shovels needed for next-generation systems.

We are the only manufacturer of micro-turbines, actuators, power systems, rate tables, and vibration test systems with a global footprint across the US and Europe.

Destinus has built 1,750 Ruta B1 cruise missiles and is producing nearly 300 more every month. A single month of that output, the company told Reuters, is more cruise missiles than Europe produced in a whole year before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. (Destinus, Reuters)

Destinus, based in the Netherlands, designs and builds the T150 engine that powers Ruta B1 and develops its own navigation system. The company also supplies engines to other manufacturers and uses no Chinese components, according to CEO Mikhail Kokorich. (Destinus, Reuters)

🗣 Mikhail Kokorich, Destinus CEO: “European customers still need to build the military units and logistics capabilities to operate these big numbers of systems.” (Reuters)

📰 Our Take: This is impressive! Nearly 300 cruise missiles a month is a real number and, more than any new announcement or prototype, shows that we have made some real progress since 2022. Destinus itself was only founded in 2021 by Mikhail Kokorich, a Russian immigrant. Building them without Chinese components also makes Destinus less vulnerable to Chinese export restrictions. Its engines could also help other European manufacturers build more missiles.

Salesforce has agreed to acquire military logistics startup Rune Technologies for a reported $375 million. Rune's software helps units forecast supply needs and plan resupply, even without a reliable network connection. The U.S. Army and Marine Corps already use it. (Salesforce, Resilience Media)

Salesforce already provides the Army with software for recruiting and personnel management. Its existing Army procurement contract has a $5.6 billion ceiling. (Salesforce's Army contract)

📰 Our Take: Other military logistics startups have been raising money. Gallatin (#53) and Watchtower (#54) announced $50 million and $35 million rounds this fall. Rune is taking a different route: an agreed sale to a strategic buyer. This seems like a good bet, especially because Salesforce already has contracts with the Army.

Think of the problems defense tech solves on a timescale. At one end are the interceptors a military needs this week. Further out is the factory that will build thousands of them, and the energy to power it all.

Growing demand for weapons strengthens the case for investing further upstream. Sustained orders give investors a reason to fund new production capacity and manufacturers a reason to plan beyond the next batch. The funding section in this edition offers two examples: Firehawk raised over $150 million to expand propulsion manufacturing, while American Advanced Materials raised $12.5 million to plan U.S. titanium sponge production. (Firehawk, American Advanced Materials)

Another example is Foundry Robotics, which recently raised $100 million in Series A funding to expand its manufacturing-as-a-service business. It owns and operates a factory where robotic cells and workers build products for defense and commercial customers, including drones and underwater vehicles. Hardware companies can buy production capacity instead of building their own assembly lines. One factory can serve several of them. (Foundry Robotics)

Now, say you have secured the factory. But what about power? Power is arguably as far upstream as you can get. You need enough to start production on time, and a supply that stays reliable and affordable for years.

In a job posting for an energy infrastructure lead, Anduril describes multi-year waits for grid connections and calls power the “single most schedule-critical input to new capacity.” The role includes evaluating on-site generation and microgrids to determine whether they shorten schedules, lower costs, or reduce dependence on the grid. (Anduril job posting)

In Europe, power costs add another challenge: In 2025, electricity prices for energy-intensive industries in the EU were still about twice as high as in the U.S., according to the International Energy Agency. (IEA)

We expect more defense manufacturers to plan their own power generation and backup power alongside new factories, either themselves or through specialist providers. Anduril is already hiring for it. The war in Ukraine has accelerated the industry's expansion, but keeping that production competitive over the long term will take reliable, affordable power.

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