Fortem Technologies Raises $50M for Counter-Drone Scale

Fortem Technologies has closed a $50M Series B to scale the manufacturing and deployment of an integrated counter-drone system. Lockheed Martin led the round after supplying a $25M initial tranche in April, while Unusual Machines and other unnamed strategic and institutional investors participated.

The September 30 financing arrives as governments and infrastructure operators are trying to shorten the distance between identifying a drone and stopping it safely. Fortem's SkyDome family combines TrueView radar sensors, command-and-control software and autonomous DroneHunter interceptors. The capital is meant to expand production at the company's Lindon, Utah facility and put more of that system into operation globally.

The deal also deepens a relationship that already extends beyond capital. Fortem's technology is being integrated into Lockheed Martin's Sanctum counter-unmanned aircraft system architecture, making the investment part of a larger effort to field layered air-defense systems faster and at greater volume.

What Fortem Technologies Raised

Fortem announced the $50M Series B close on September 30, 2026. Lockheed Martin's $25M April investment was the first tranche of the same round, not an additional amount on top of the $50M. Unusual Machines joined the financing, while the remaining strategic and institutional investors were not identified.

The official announcement did not disclose a valuation or the allocation of the second tranche among participants. That boundary matters because the company is raising into a defense market where contract ceilings, production capacity and deployed systems can all sound like revenue if the accounting is allowed to get lazy.

Fortem says the proceeds will accelerate manufacturing and global deployment. The company opened a 51,000-square-foot headquarters and manufacturing facility in Lindon in June 2025. At the time, Fortem reported more than 10,000 square feet of dedicated manufacturing space, over 100 Utah employees and installed capacity for 600 radar units and 40 DroneHunter interceptors per month. Those figures describe company-reported capability, not audited monthly output.

Why Counter-Drone Manufacturing Matters

A counter-drone system is not a single weapon. Fortem's architecture begins with TrueView radar, moves through SkyDome software that fuses sensor data and manages the response, and can end with a DroneHunter interceptor that captures or defeats the target. Each layer has to work together under rules that differ across military installations, borders, public events and civilian infrastructure.

That integration problem is becoming a procurement problem. Small drones can be inexpensive, available in volume and difficult for traditional air-defense systems to engage economically. Buyers need enough sensors and interceptors to cover multiple sites, software that can coordinate them, and a supply chain capable of replacing systems after training and operational use.

Fortem's factory investment is therefore part of the product. A successful demonstration proves that the system can work. Repeatable manufacturing, field support and integration determine whether a customer can depend on it after the threat changes, the mission moves or the first inventory has been consumed.

Lockheed Martin Is Both Investor and Integrator

Lockheed Martin's role gives the financing a commercial logic beyond a conventional venture round. The companies have been integrating Fortem's detection, tracking and autonomous interception technology into Lockheed Martin's Sanctum architecture, which is designed to connect sensors, command systems and different effectors into a layered counter-drone response.

That relationship can give Fortem access to larger programs and established defense channels while giving Lockheed Martin a lower-cost option for certain small-drone threats. It also raises the operating standard. Fortem must manufacture at the pace, quality and support level expected inside a broader defense architecture rather than sell an impressive interceptor as an isolated product.

Unusual Machines adds another strategic participant from the American drone supply chain. The official release did not describe its investment amount or a specific operating partnership, so any deeper relationship remains an open question.

Contracts Create Access, Not Guaranteed Revenue

Fortem has accumulated evidence that government buyers are willing to place its technology inside active procurement channels. In August, the company became the only small business among seven Track 1 prime contractors on a five-year Department of Homeland Security counter-UAS IDIQ. The vehicle has an initial ceiling of $1.011B and allows DHS components to issue task orders directly to qualified contractors.

The ceiling belongs to the multi-award vehicle; it is not a $1.011B award to Fortem. What Fortem gains is a route through which Customs and Border Protection, the Secret Service, the Federal Protective Service, the Coast Guard and other DHS components can buy its hardware, software and services. The company has separately disclosed a multimillion-dollar DHS order to protect 2026 FIFA World Cup venues and U.S. Army work.

The U.S. Army's July 2026 Domestic Shield contract adds broader evidence that counter-drone procurement is moving toward faster, more flexible acquisition. Fortem still has to convert access into task orders, produce systems on time and support them across different missions.

The Team Behind the Scale-Up

Jon Gruen leads Fortem as CEO, bringing military operating experience and an earlier business-development career at Lockheed Martin. Co-founder Adam Robertson remains CTO and guides the technology roadmap, regulatory compliance and work with defense customers. Timothy Bean, who founded the company with Robertson in 2016, is not listed on Fortem's current leadership page, so the company's present operating team is described through verified current roles.

The Series B gives that team more capacity at a moment when the market is asking counter-drone vendors to move from demonstrations into dependable infrastructure. Fortem has sensors, software, an interceptor, a larger factory and procurement access. The work funded now is making those pieces arrive together, in sufficient volume, wherever an operator discovers that the air above a facility has become part of the perimeter.