2x deftech founder. CEO @firestorm_labs : Build Many. Build Modular. Build cheap.
California
Joined September 2012
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Thanks for having me Bois
Full interview with Firestorm CEO @DanMagy at the @NYSE on drones and its xCell shipping-container 3D printing factor for the edge.
"We figured out basically how to run these things in really hot, humid, cold environments with this kind of expandable 20-foot shipping container."
"So you basically load in a CAD, or you design your own part. You hit print."
"And I could literally train you two in less than two hours how to run the system to about an 80% competency. And then when the parts come out, you basically can assemble things at the point of need."
We covered:
00:19 Gauntlet & AutoWarCom
02:15 Who buys drones
03:12 Ukraine testing ground
06:44 How xCell works
07:14 Contested logistics
09:28 Modular factories
10:15 DoW customers
11:20 Fortress America
13:38 Path to $10–20B
15:28 USS Essex deployment
18:10 Catching China
With @itsmoislam and @Firestorm_Labs
Come see us
xCell is coming to DC🔥
Firestorm is demonstrating xCell's expeditionary manufacturing capabilities and showcasing its mission-adaptable UAVs at #Battlefield2027
Stop by for a tour of xCell and an obligatory taco at one of our happy hours:
Monday, 10/12 | 4:30–6:30 PM
Tuesday, 10/13 | 4:30–6:30 PM
DM us for an invite!
Daniel Magy retweeted
On August 11, I took part in @DanMagy Drone Wars podcast at Firestorm - we talked about drone war in Ukraine and how unmanned and autonomous systems are impacting modern combat. youtube.com/watch?v=2CSRTrZ4…
Daniel Magy retweeted
Firestorm was thankful for the opportunity to showcase our expeditionary manufacturing capabilities and mission-adaptable UAS to @ASWCTDoddFather at Technology Readiness Experimentation (T-REX) 26-3.
This tier 1 experimentation event focused on contested logistics, a problem Firestorm's xCell mobile microfactory was designed to solve.
Building attritable UAS is only one component of a larger ecosystem. Being able to self-sustain repair parts to mission-critical systems at the edge is what turns capability into sustained readiness.
Thank you the Office Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering for the opportunity. #OUSWRE
Daniel Magy retweeted
Firestorm’s factory-in-a-box was originally designed in response to the demand to produce attritable mass closer to the point of need. Along the way, we discovered that the real demand is for repair parts.
Contested logistics leave operators unable to rely on resupply shipments to repair their systems. When a multi-million-dollar system is inoperable due to a missing part, warfighters don’t have the luxury of time to wait for that part to be shipped in. Giving end-users the ability to produce and self-sustain at the edge saves costs, time, and resources.
Our xCell mobile microfactory proved its ability to produce drones and critical components in hours—aboard a ship and in rough sea conditions. It’s a real-world example of why expeditionary manufacturing matters: when supply chains are constrained, the factory needs to move closer to the point of need.
Thank you @defense_news for covering our recent maritime deployment on the USS Essex.
na2.hubs.ly/H07hS4L0
Daniel Magy retweeted
“While our nation was focused on countering violent extremists for two decades, our competitors focused on matching our way of war.” - General Charles Q. Brown Jr.
The U.S. needs to field millions of attritable systems to keep up with China, but its output today is measured in thousands.
Firestorm’s xCell microfactory is a major piece of the puzzle that will strengthen the defense industrial base.
#WinThePacific
Game time
Introducing Atlas
We're building motion systems for drones, robots, and autonomous machines.
Our work is in service of our customers who work factory floors, tend farmland, move medicine, and defend our country.
Atlas is built to supply them quickly, and supply them in volume. Their progress should no longer be held back by a motor or actuator.
Another big one for the team
Big maritime milestone: xCell just proved expeditionary manufacturing works in real conditions.
Firestorm's xCell platform printed 1,000+ parts, including 12 Squall FPV drones, en route to RIMPAC in Hawaii, as part of @NPS_Monterey CAMRE's distributed advanced manufacturing network.
In sea conditions peaking at 12 ft waves, service members manufactured and built the FPVs in transit, using our xCell microfactory. Upon arrival to RIMPAC, the drones were flown as adversary aircrafts in a counter-UAS exercise.
Every part xCell printed on deck is one that doesn't need to be flown or shipped across contested waters — cutting the fuel, aircraft hours, and personnel it takes to keep a ship operational. Repairs that once meant days or weeks waiting on a resupply run, can now happen in hours, on station. That's the difference between logistics as a bottleneck and logistics as an advantage — sustainment at the point of need, not thousands of miles away.
This was conducted aboard the USS Essex and facilitated by NPS' PIA partner FLEETWERX.
Daniel Magy retweeted
Come visit Firestorm next week at the Joint Advanced Manufacturing Symposium for live tours, trainings, and demonstrations of xCell’s expeditionary manufacturing capabilities.
Aug 3 – 8
Fort Campbell, KY
Hosted by The Bravo Maintenance and Supply Company, 626th Light Support Battalion (101st Airborne Division), in collaboration with EagleWERX and the Defense Development and Applied Research Center at the University of Tennessee. #PrintBuildFly
Daniel Magy retweeted
Print. Build. Fly. Sustain. Repeat.
We’ve built a family of aircraft designed from day one for distributed manufacturing. With our expeditionary manufacturing infrastructure, production moves closer to the point of need, turning designs into mission-ready systems and sustainment, wherever they’re needed.
It's not only about building a better aircraft. It’s about building the capability to produce, repair, and regenerate them anywhere.
Daniel Magy retweeted
Shoulder-to-shoulder 🇺🇸🇵🇭
#PacificMarines with #3dMLR, @3d_Marine_Div, and @Philippine_Navy sailors, collaborate on Firestorm Tempest #Drone capabilities during Exercise #Balikatan26 at Lal-Lo, Philippines, April 24, 2026.
📸: Cpl. Ernesto Lagunes | @USMC
@INDOPACOM
ALT A Firestorm Tempest Drone with 3rd Littoral Combat Team, 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, flies overhead during Exercise Balikatan 2026 at Cagayan North International Airport, Lal-Lo, Philippines, April 24, 2026. Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. military that represents the strength of our alliance, improves our capable combined force, and demonstrates our commitment to regional peace and prosperity. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Cpl. Ernesto Lagunes)
ALT U.S. service members attached to 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, and Philippine Navy sailors, pose for a photo with a Firestorm Tempest Drone during Exercise Balikatan 2026 at Cagayan North International Airport, Lal-Lo, Philippines, April 24, 2026. Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. military that represents the strength of our alliance, improves our capable combined force, and demonstrates our commitment to regional peace and prosperity. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Ernesto Lagunes)
ALT U.S. service members attached to 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, and Philippine Navy sailors, pose for a photo with a Firestorm Tempest Drone during Exercise Balikatan 2026 at Cagayan North International Airport, Lal-Lo, Philippines, April 24, 2026. Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. military that represents the strength of our alliance, improves our capable combined force, and demonstrates our commitment to regional peace and prosperity. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Ernesto Lagunes)
Daniel Magy retweeted
"The warfighter is the ultimate innovator." - Adam Fife, founder and CEO of @CenCoreLLC .
@DanMagy and Adam cover how critical it is to put the end-users at the center of product development, why volume is the path to affordability, and why CenCore will never take investors.
Contested logistics solutions are here and ready for mass deployment thanks to our xcell.
Forbes called 3D printing the Pentagon's most vital asset.
We'd have to agree — and we're proud xCell is featured as a solution to contested logistics.
We initially built xCell to be a drone factory at the edge. It has since become something far bigger.
Today, xCell is deployed across the globe and the demand goes far beyond drones. Operators are using it to build and repair equipment, fabricate custom parts on the spot, and solve logistics problems that used to take months to route through a supply chain.
Read about it:
forbes.com/sites/zitaballing…
Daniel Magy retweeted
The Factory at the Front.
xCell is a mobile, containerized manufacturing unit operational within hours of deployment.
The solution to contested logistics and sovereign manufacturing.
Where the supply chain ends, xCell begins.
The future of defense production lies between the walls of 20 ft shipping containers.
Daniel Magy retweeted
Daily Hard Tech Headlines:
- @Firestorm_Labs secured a $30M APFIT contract focused on increased deployment and production of its xCell forward-deployed containerized manufacturing system and 3D-printed drones.
- @BlueWaterShips, the New England autonomous ship startup focused on the defense end-market, has secured multiple new partnerships, including Caterpillar Defense (marine diesel engines), @ValstadShip (manufacturing and robotic automation), Tulip Interfaces (manufacturing AI), and Precise Power Systems (containerized engine modules).
- @knightwerx, the Scottsdale, Arizona defense tech startup, advanced to the semifinals of the Army xTech Adaptive Strike competition in collaboration with BEI Corp. The company showcased its Group 1 drone platform, Sandman, as part of the effort.
- @birdstopdrones, the autonomous drone startup focused on persistent monitoring, has secured a partnership with Truck Specialized Parking Services (TSPS), the truck servicing firm. The partnership focuses on deploying drones for truck stop security.
- TerraPower, the radioisotope producer, has begun building out a $450M production facility in Philadelphia.
- @PhoenixTailings, the rare earth refining firm, has acquired Machinery Partner, the heavy industry automation company, deploying its technology across refining operations.
- Jay Wisham has joined @GallatinAI, the logistics technology startup. He previously served as Chief Strategy Officer at Overland AI and Executive Director of the Army Applications Laboratory.
- @ServeRobotics has secured a pilot with the City of Vancouver to deploy delivery robots across the city.
- @KratosDefense has selected Odon, Indiana for its new hypersonic testing facility.
- Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has opened a new Defense Innovation OnRamp Hub in Louisville, Kentucky.
- Texas A&M University has begun building a new AgTech research facility incorporating robotics and AI for food processing and additional research.
- Front Ventures (publ), the European VC firm, has raised €5 million. The fund invests in Ukrainian and Nordic defense tech startups
- Packet Digital and Badland Batteries have secured a $9.8M U.S. Navy contract focused on scaling domestic battery cell production for unmanned aerial systems.
- SWEBAL has secured $35M in funding, which will enable the buildout of its Swedish TNT production plant, the first of its kind in Sweden in more than 20 years.
- @FirehawkAero has successfully designed, fabricated, and static-fired a tactical RATO motor utilizing its 3D-printed propellant technology in less than seven weeks (pictured below).
