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Firestorm Labs Secures $30M APFIT Award to Scale Expeditionary Manufacturing and Tempest UAS production for the Indo-Pacific
Funding Supports Department of War Initiative to Accelerate Innovative Technologies
SAN DIEGO, May 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Firestorm Labs today announced it has been selected for an award of up to $30 million through the Department of War's Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) program. The award will fund expanded deployment of the xCell containerized manufacturing platform and increased production and sustainment of the Tempest family of uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) in support of operational units in the Indo-Pacific.
U.S. and allied forces operating across distributed, contested environments currently depend on extended logistics networks that are vulnerable to disruption — a critical gap as the Department of War prioritizes Contested Logistics as one of six Critical Technology Areas identified by the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering. To address this need, Firestorm's xCell platform places containerized production, sustainment, and repair capability at the point of need, and has already begun fielding to operational units. These systems enable forward-deployed forces to manufacture combat-ready Tempest UAS on-site, reducing reliance on vulnerable supply chains.
"Our xCell platform and Tempest UAS are a mission-critical enabler for distributed operations, forward sustainment, and affordable mass at the point of need," said Dan Magy, CEO of Firestorm Labs.
Firestorm’s xCell platform enables forward-deployed units to produce, sustain, and repair platforms, including its own line of Tempest UAS designed from the ground up for xCell, at the point of need, reducing reliance on vulnerable supply chains and extended logistics networks. Through this APFIT award, Firestorm will expand production capacity, accelerate fielding, and support operational integration of expeditionary manufacturing with Tempest UAS across Indo-Pacific mission sets.
"The U.S. lacks the expeditionary manufacturing base to sustain distributed operations at the scale and tempo modern conflict demands. That gap costs lives and missions. We've already proven we can deploy xCell and produce combat-ready drones in under 24 hours. This APFIT award lets us scale that capability and put it where it matters most: in the hands of the warfighter, at the speed and scale the mission requires," Magy concluded.
As Firestorm advances toward full-rate production of xCell and Tempest, the APFIT award underscores a shared commitment to equipping U.S. and allied forces with resilient, forward-deployable manufacturing and uncrewed systems, reinforcing the operational edge the United States and its partners rely on across the Indo-Pacific.
About Firestorm Labs
The mission of Firestorm Labs is to equip warfighters with mission-critical capabilities at the point of need. Its xCell platforms deliver containerized expeditionary manufacturing capabilities, enabling production and sustainment of not only its proprietary modular, rapidly configurable unmanned systems, but also parts, components, and partner platforms. Learn more at Launchfirestorm.com.
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Firestorm Labs, Inc.
Firestorm Labs Secures $30M APFIT Award
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