Defense tech companies and startups in California

Develops the Hivemind AI pilot and the V-BAT vertical takeoff drone, flying autonomously without GPS or communications for military reconnaissance and strike missions.

Builds low-cost mid-range interceptor missiles assembled from readily available components, targeting 1,000 systems per year per factory.

Develops data compaction and Neurpac networking software that shrinks machine data to raise effective bandwidth and security on military satellite and tactical links.

Builds AI readiness and decision software for military maintenance, materiel, personnel and supply chain, grown out of Caltech and NASA JPL research.

Builds low-cost strike weapons including the Viper one-way attack vehicle and a vertical-takeoff cruise missile, with in-house propulsion and energetics.

Mass-produces low-cost Archer FPV strike drones and the Bandit interceptor with a vertically integrated, NDAA-compliant component stack.

Designs and operates LEO satellite constellations on its Halo platform for Earth observation, wildfire detection and national security missions.

Builds Spike, a counter-drone system pairing a Spotter sensor with Seeker, a 250-gram tube-launched interceptor drone for small FPV threats.

Runs highly automated precision machining factories that produce aerospace, missile and submarine components for primes and the US Navy.

Develops low-cost, mass-producible hypersonic strike weapons, led by the Blackbeard missile, with in-house solid rocket motor production in New Mexico.

Builds Archimedes, a lightweight high-energy laser turret combining machine vision and radar to shoot down drones, with operations in San Francisco and Detroit.

Builds ParallaxOS, hardware-agnostic software that fuses radars, RF detectors, cameras and effectors into one counter-drone picture.

Develops a low-cost, ground-launched missile interceptor to defeat drones and missiles, building most subsystems in house.

Designs and builds wire harnesses for aircraft, spacecraft, satellites and defense systems with software-driven design and automated assembly.

Builds large, high-power satellite buses designed for mass production, aimed at defense and commercial missions across LEO, MEO and GEO.

Makes low-cost turbojet engines, starting with a 100-pound-thrust class engine, for attritable cruise missiles and unmanned aircraft.

Mass-produces standardized satellite buses for government and commercial constellations, including the Aries and Nova platforms.

Builds Legion, an open integration and data fusion layer that connects sensors, effectors and autonomous systems from different vendors.

Builds ground-based optical telescopes, laser communications ground stations and in-space payloads for space domain awareness, with manufacturing in Detroit.

Builds autonomous precision munitions for air and sea that operate in jammed, GPS-denied environments, produced in Los Angeles and Oslo.

Builds the Lattice software platform and autonomous systems, from air defense and counter-drone interceptors to uncrewed aircraft and undersea vehicles, plus high-rate manufacturing.

Builds low-cost Mako underwater drones, the Leviathan surface mothership and the Kraken recovery system for ocean ISR and seabed missions.

Builds DROID spacecraft for rendezvous, proximity operations and space domain awareness, plus surveillance payloads and Starfire mission software.

Builds autonomous small drones such as the X10D for defense, public safety and infrastructure, with production at a factory in Hayward, California.

Trains Fury, a defense vision-language-action foundation model that lets operators command fleets of drones and ground robots in natural language.

Develops uncrewed high-Mach aircraft and turbine-based combined cycle propulsion, flying the Quarterhorse series toward supersonic and Mach 3 flight for defense customers.

Builds modular, 3D-printed military drones and xCell, a containerized factory that produces airframes near the front line.

Building Pulsar, a 258-satellite LEO navigation constellation offering jam-resistant, encrypted positioning and timing as a complement to GPS.

Builds large, long-range uncrewed aircraft for sensing and strike, with Legion software that lets one operator control many aircraft.

Builds small solar-electric uncrewed surface vehicles, including long-endurance Lightfish and Quickfish boats, for maritime surveillance and security.

Forms sheet metal structures with AI-guided robotic RoboCraftsman cells without dies or molds, for missiles, hypersonics, aircraft and vehicles.

Operates the Roc carrier aircraft and the reusable, autonomous Talon-A hypersonic test vehicle for Missile Defense Agency and DoD flight testing.

Builds Portal, a mass-producible multi-beam phased array ground station network, to connect satellites for government and commercial operators.

Builds Lifter Lite, a low-cost autonomous cargo aircraft that carries 2,000 to 10,000 pounds over thousands of miles for contested logistics.

Develops high-temperature resins, carbon-carbon thermal protection and composite materials for hypersonic glide bodies, rocket motors and aircraft.

Develops the Coherent Distributed Network and Vanquish radars that detect small drones and other aerial threats faster for military operators.

Builds wind and solar powered uncrewed surface vehicles, from the Explorer to the larger Surveyor and Voyager, for maritime surveillance and ocean data.

Operates an AI-driven additive manufacturing and assembly system that produces structures for missiles, drones and vehicles for defense primes.

Builds orbital capsules that reenter Earth's atmosphere, used for in-space manufacturing and as recoverable hypersonic flight testbeds for the Air Force.

Provides AI training data, model evaluation and generative AI platforms for commercial customers and governments, including the US Department of Defense.

Builds in-space transportation vehicles, the Mira and Helios orbital transfer vehicles, for rapid delivery of payloads including defense missions to LEO and GEO.

Supplies vehicle software, simulation and autonomy stacks for automotive, trucking and defense, including uncrewed ground, air and maritime systems.

Makes the Frontline Perception System, edge machine learning software that lets soldiers build and run target recognition models on local sensor data.

Builds software-defined electronic warfare hardware and software, including the Wraith airborne EW platform, to contest the electromagnetic spectrum.

Makes a visual navigation system, hardware and software, that gives any military drone position and heading without GPS by matching camera views to map data.

Builds Leonidas, a solid-state, software-defined high-power microwave system that disables drone swarms and electronics.

Develops AI models that turn ordinary low-light cameras into digital night vision, as a cheaper alternative to image-intensifier goggles.

Builds Arc, an autonomous reentry vehicle that stores cargo in orbit and delivers it anywhere on Earth for military logistics and hypersonic testing.

Builds and operates high-resolution synthetic aperture radar satellites, selling imagery and tasking to defense and intelligence customers.

Provides space domain awareness data, a global optical sensor network and the Beacon coordination tool for government and commercial satellite operators.

Builds AI software that collects and analyzes foreign-language open source and other data to give military and intelligence users battlefield and strategic insight.

Runs a digital investment casting foundry that prints casting patterns from design files to make superalloy parts without hard tooling.

Formerly ABL Space Systems, now builds missile defense systems and hypersonic flight test vehicles after pivoting from small launch in 2025.

Operates a global network of ground-based phased array radars that track objects in low Earth orbit for space domain awareness and missile defense.

Founder-owned launch company developing Rocket 4 and a mobile launch system for responsive national security launch, plus spacecraft engines.