Ukrainian Investment Fund Commits $130 Million to UK "Iron Dome" Startup
Cambridge Aerospace, a British start-up focused on developing cost-effective anti-missile and drone interception solutions, has secured over $130 million in funding to scale development and production. This includes investment from Ukrainian fund D3, which is supported by former chief executive of Google, Eric Schmidt.
Cambridge Aerospace’s new funding comes after rapid hiring and efforts to strengthen its UK manufacturing base. The company is also in talks with government and industry partners about upcoming trials and evaluations. The start-up has attracted notable venture capital from other European and U.S. firms, including Spark Capital, Lakestar, Lux, and Accel. This summer, Cambridge Aerospace reportedly concluded a $100 million funding round.
Based in Cambridge, UK and established just a year ago with a team of around 60 people, Cambridge Aerospace is advancing multiple interception systems intended to counter mass drone raids and low-flying cruise missiles. The company’s family of interceptors include lightweight Skyhammer rockets, high-velocity Starhammer for rapid targets, and a sovereign solid rocket motor line intended to support production depth and supply assurance, known as Nightstar. The U.K., like the U.S. and allied countries, face a supply problem when it comes solid rocket motors. Barrett has noted the absence of a domestic supply chain for solid rocket motors, highlighting Cambridge Aerospace’s efforts to establish one internally. The company intends to manufacture its Nightstar interceptors at scale, potentially thousands each month, for their own systems and eventually to sell to other defense companies, at a new production facility in Norfolk.
Cambridge Aerospace Co-Founder and CEO Steven Barrett, a former MIT aerospace engineer and current professor at Cambridge University, underscored the critical importance of affordable air defense solutions in the UK and Europe. “Our objective is to eliminate the risk of drones and missiles to the UK, Europe, and our allies, and our aim is to do that in a way that’s dramatically lower costs than existing providers of air defense systems,” he said. Barrett confirmed ongoing, close dialogue with the UK Ministry of Defence, with the objective of deploying these systems expeditiously.
In addition to Barrett, Chris Sylvan, Anduril’s former Director of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; former UK Defense Secretary and current Chairman of Cambridge Aerospace’s board, Grant Shapps; and, Junaid Hussain, Chair and Founder at holding company Auctor, have been instrumental in growing the company.
The ongoing war in Ukraine has shifted not only entrepreneurs, but also investors’ perspectives on defense technology, increasingly aligning it with ESG considerations in promoting democratic resilience. Eric Schmidt, who has been actively investing in defense technologies since departing Google, has also aided Ukraine’s deployment of drones in its conflict with Russia, emphasizing that “drone warfare represents the future of conflict.” Barrett has stated, “Particularly when you look at what’s going on in Ukraine…we just think we have a moral duty to find cost-effective ways to defend the population.”
Cambridge Aerospace will formally unveil two of its products, Skyhammer and Starhammer, technology that has been compared to Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, this week at the DSEI security trade show in London.
The company’s immediate goals include system demos, early customer trials, and finalizing manufacturing plans. Longer term, Cambridge Aerospace aims to shift from prototypes to dependable production, with a continued emphasis on controlling costs and meeting delivery schedules.