Army plans a 'manufacturing rodeo' race among its industrial base partners

Lockheed Martin announced Oct. 14 that Hadrian will bring a highly automated machining cell inside its Grand Prairie, Texas, facility. Lockheed expects the 24-machine cell to begin operating in early 2027 and add dedicated capacity for critical defense components.¹

Lockheed's production workforce will operate the cell. Hadrian CEO Chris Power said his company would bring automation, software and workforce training from its own factories into Lockheed to produce more, faster. The announcement follows a seven-year agreement the companies signed in 2025.¹

The cell will join a broader expansion at Grand Prairie, where Lockheed is investing $300 million and increasing its manufacturing footprint to more than 735,000 square feet. Across the facility, Lockheed expects to have added nearly 100 new advanced machines by the end of 2026. The release does not specify the Hadrian arrangement's value or commercial terms, who funds the cell, or which components or programs it will machine.¹

Also announced: Lockheed plans to create 6,000 jobs across the United States, including 2,000 in Texas, as it expands advanced manufacturing capacity for critical munitions.¹

Fortastra, a Torrance, Calif., developer of maneuverable spacecraft for on-orbit security, said Thursday, Oct. 8, that it had closed a $30 million Series A. First In led the round.¹ Upfront Ventures, which led Fortastra's seed round of more than $8 million announced last December, came back alongside Space Capital, Rsquared, Side Door Ventures and ATX Ventures, among others, and existing investors.^1–2

Fortastra is expanding manufacturing infrastructure for a modular spacecraft bus optimized for high-rate production. Chief Executive Mike Smayda said the raise lets the company move from its "initial operational success with Watchdog V0" to "an operational capability we can take into full-rate production." The company points to the launch of Watchdog V0 among its recent milestones and says it has secured initial government contracts. Thursday's announcement names no agency, contract vehicle or value for those contracts, and gives no date for the Watchdog V0 launch or for when the next spacecraft will fly.¹

The spacecraft are designed to hold position near critical assets, evaluate surrounding activity and respond to potential threats in real time. The round also pays for engineers in flight software, autonomy and guidance, navigation and control. Proximity operations "gate every capability we are building," Chief Technology Officer Josh Jetter said. Smayda said the company went "from seed funding to on-orbit in about a year."¹

The round follows a memorandum of understanding with manufacturer Hadrian to apply precision machining and additive manufacturing to national security spacecraft programs. Fortastra has also appointed Scott Klempner, formerly deputy program executive officer for Space Combat Power at Space Systems Command, as director of product for national security.¹