"The U.S. has depleted its stockpile of seven major types of missiles, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies-including using more than 150 THAAD interceptors-missiles that Lockheed Martin typically produces about 96 of per year. The U.S. military was also firing multi-million-dollar interceptors at drones that cost as little as $5,000 in Iran. "This mismatch is what pushed us to start Furientis," Franzen told Fortune. "We're spending millions to stop threats that cost thousands, and it doesn't scale.""
"But it's production, not price, that's the real problem. In the 1990s, there were more than 50 defense "primes"-the manufacturers that build complete weapons systems. Today, there are five. In ship-borne interceptors, there's one. "Our adversaries, like China, are claiming the capacity of building thousands of anti-ship cruise missiles per week," he says. "The math just doesn't make sense from a production standpoint.""
"His answer is to build ship-based interceptor missiles like cars, or better yet, IKEA furniture. Furientis uses automotive-style materials, automotive-style assembly processes, and commercial off-the-shelf components-rath"
Furientis, a defense startup, emerged from stealth with $5 million in pre-seed funding and operates from Lenny Kravitz’s old studio in Los Angeles. The company’s pitch centers on missile defense scaling problems tied to geopolitics and production constraints. The U.S. has depleted stockpiles of major missile types and has used expensive interceptors against low-cost drone threats. Production capacity has also consolidated, leaving far fewer defense primes than in the 1990s. Furientis argues that adversaries can manufacture large volumes of missiles weekly, while current interceptor production cannot match that scale. The company plans to build ship-based interceptor missiles using automotive-style materials, assembly processes, and commercial off-the-shelf components.
Read at Fortune
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