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Jonathan Moneymaker, Gold Star’s Gold Brother, founded the defense technology startup Blue Halo five years ago.
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The Army is now officially deploying its high energy laser systems overseas to shoot down drones.
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Moneymaker told BI why successful defense technology isn’t just about being the most cutting-edge solution.
“Our job is to keep men and women who are harming themselves safe and get them home.”
It’s the kind of patriotic mission statement that has spawned plenty of enthusiastic young businesses. But for Blue Halo CEO Jonathan Moneymaker, it’s personal.
“I’m a gold star brother, which means my brother was killed in the Navy,” Moneymaker told Business Insider. “Technology could save his life. And part of this is making sure other people have that opportunity.”
Blue Halo is now five years old at Moneymaker. In that time, and with the backing of private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners, he designed, tested and delivered the Army’s first major laser weapon system. It’s a fast turnaround rate, unknown to the larger and more established defense contractors.
After receiving a $1 billion contract from the Pentagon this year, Blue Halo is delivering its Palletized High Energy Laser (P-HEL) system to the Army, which will enable them to blast drones out of the sky with AI-powered pinpoint accuracy.
But it’s not just a laser. Blue Halo produces autonomous systems, anti-drone technologies, space technology, and cyber warfare solutions, all underpinned by its machine learning software, Metis.
“If you look across our portfolio of focuses and offerings, there’s very little [competitors] can compete with us in that total,” CEO Jonathan Moneymaker told BI.
The Virginia-based startup isn’t at the level of defense technology unicorns like Shield AI, Anduril, or Epirus—which are increasingly nipping at the heels of defense majors—but after a merger this year with Eqlipse Technologies, Blue Halo is getting closer to fast. $1 billion in revenue and has 2,400 employees across 11 states.
And the contracts keep flowing in. This week, it received a $95.4 million contract with the Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) to develop prototype directed energy (DE) solutions.
As the Department of Defense (DoD) has slowly come around to the idea that it should buy commercial military technology, many tech startups are hoping to follow the same path, providing solutions for US national security and getting a share of the $ 842 billion. defense budget.
Tackling the legendary complexity of the defense industry is unlike entering any other growth market, industry experts have warned.
“The principals are not particularly innovative because they have mastered the acquisition process rather than the technology process. However, startups lack a few things,” Steve Blank, Professor of Defense technology innovation at Stanford and creator of the Lean Startup method , BI said.
They usually lack a go-to-market strategy and don’t understand the complexity of getting an order from the Department of Defense, Blank said.
The DoD buys to satisfy what is called a need, where someone has specifically asked for something. Writing that requirement is a long process that usually helps themselves, Blank explained. Startups are often clueless about that process and completely out of the loop.
Then comes the actual acquisition process, which can take two or three years to even show up in a budget—a problem if you’re a startup that needs orders and cash flow to satisfy your investors.
“If you don’t understand this process, the key points tend to win,” Blank told BI.
Unlike many of Silicon Valley’s defense-minded tech firms, Blue Halo has roots on the other side — Moneymaker has spent the past 25 years in the defense industry.
It’s that insider know-how combined with the operational speeds typical of the tech world that Blue Halo says has enabled its success.
“We have the experience, know-how and sophistication of some of the traditional staples in our space, but the speed and entrepreneurial and innovative spirit of some of our new entrants.”
The key, Moneymaker said, is to understand not only the military requirements but how to earn the trust of defense officials and navigate the procurement process to get it into their hands.
Silicon Valley faces “some learning curves” in this regard, he noted.
Oftentimes, tech companies will have fancy, brand new technology, but that’s not what the military needs, or it’s going to be extremely difficult to combat, he told BI.
“It’s really important to know where it’s applicable and where it’s not. Honestly, if you haven’t grown up in this environment, sometimes it just takes a little longer to get used to,” said Moneymaker. “We’re listening better than a lot of our competition.”
Another factor Moneymaker sees as an advantage is Blue Halo’s lack of a Silicon Valley ego.
“We lead without ego,” said the CEO of Blue Halo. “We’ve all done exciting things in our careers, but this is about being part of something bigger.”
But despite his insider knowledge of the industry and the Arlington base, there are still some aspects of Blue Halo that it shares with traditional technology – like the slightly cringy company community name: Halo Nation.
Then, like any successful startup, it is planning a path to the IPO, hoping to be ready within a year. If all goes according to plan, the “ring of protection” that Moneymaker says represents Blue Halo will not grow.
Read the original article on Business Insider
