Firehawk Scores $60M Investment Led by 1789 Capital, Firm Tied to Trump Jr.

Firehawk Aerospace, a Dallas-based defense company specializing in 3D printed solid rocket fuel, has just received a $60 million Series C investment led by 1789 Capital. The company’s mission is to enable the next generation of defense systems with solid rocket motors powered by additively manufactured propellant. Firehawk claims that this propellant is cheaper and faster to produce than traditional propellant, all while being safer, more reliable and higher performing.

According to Forbes, 1789’s investment in Firehawk is the firm’s first defense tech venture. They offered $15 million for the deal, which should close this month, along with checks from other firms like Draper Associates and Boka Capital. 1789 Capital, named for the year the Bill of Rights was written, was founded in 2023 by Omeed Malik to invest in non-“woke” companies to form a “parallel economy,” i.e., an alternative to the one participating in the “woke” agenda. The firm’s website promises to invest in “Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Growth” and is notably “Anti-ESG,” ESG referring to Environmental, Social and Governance, shorthand for an investment principle that prioritizes environmental, social and corporate governance issues. Donald Trump Junior, son of President-elect Donald Trump, recently joined the firm as a partner.

Firehawk Aerospace CEO and founder Will Edwards

An Inherent Link Between Aerospace and Defense?

While rocket fuel, as used for aerospace, is not inherently political, its counter-use, in defense, certainly is. After all, rocket propellant is used for space rockets, as well as missiles. Is it possible to distinguish between the two sectors? To garner enough funding for research, Firehawk’s CEO and founder Will Edwards explained that it was necessary to blur the lines. In a 2023 interview with Space Insider, he exclaimed: “Every space company is a defense company.” For Edwards, it was especially necessary to highlight the overlap for investors, because futuristic space endeavors could lack the near-term revenue opportunities they seek.