DOW commits $150M conditional loan to LeoLabs to scale space radar production. * Private investors will match the federal loan in full, bringing the total capital package to $300 million * LeoLabs plans to finish two large U.S. radar factories by 2028 and add dozens of sensors to its network by 2030 * Register for the 2027 Defense R&D Summit to learn more about defense developments, priorities and opportunities The Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital has signed a conditional commitment to lend LeoLabs up to $150 million, with private backers pledging an equal sum to give the space domain awareness, or SDA, company $300 million in new capital. Table of Contents DOW said Wednesday the funding would help the Menlo Park, California-based company ramp up output and fielding of its multi-mission phased-array radars, including the transportable Scout line, along with the decision science software it uses to track objects in orbit. LeoLabs confirmed the deal Thursday, saying the funds would grow its domestic radar manufacturing, strengthen its U.S. supply chain and put more sensing infrastructure in the field. Defense research and engineering priorities will be in focus at the Potomac Officers Club's 2027 Defense R&D Summit, set for Feb. 4. Register now to secure your spot. "To maintain our strategic advantage, we must leverage the innovation and agility of the American commercial sector," said David Lorch, OSC director and senior adviser to Deputy Secretary of War Steve Feinberg. He said backing a "globally distributed, wholly domestic space radar architecture" would make the U.S. more resilient to disruptions in orbit. How will LeoLabs use the OSC financing? LeoLabs said the capital would speed construction of two large-scale manufacturing plants due for completion by 2028. The added capacity would let the company place dozens more radars in its global network by 2030 and build sovereign systems for American and allied government buyers. The company operates Seeker and Ranger radars at fixed locations, alongside two transportable models: Scout-S for SDA and Scout-X for missile warning and tracking. "The U.S. Department of War has challenged industry to move with greater urgency," said Tony Frazier, LeoLabs CEO and a six-time Wash100 Award winner. He said the combined public and private funding would let the company deliver its sensors "faster and at greater scale." OSC said the commitment remains subject to due diligence and other financial, legal and technical requirements before it can close. What space domain awareness work has LeoLabs done for the government? OSC described LeoLabs as the only U.S. company offering commercially available ground-based radar SDA, adding that its network provides constant, cloud-delivered data that can be shared at the unclassified level. Jordan Sebold, OSC's senior managing director for investments, said the deal would help the U.S. "maintain persistent custody of the objects that matter most." In June, LeoLabs fielded its first Scout-S unit in the Indo-Pacific, where it supported an experiment during U.S. Indo-Pacific Command's Valiant Shield 2026 exercise. In October, Space Systems Command named the company among six firms signing agreements under the Space Force's Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve program to supply surge SDA capacity. On the civil side, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Space Commerce in 2025 picked LeoLabs as one of five data providers for the Commercial Collision Avoidance Gap Pathfinder project under its Traffic Coordination System for Space program. How does the LeoLabs deal compare with other OSC space financing? Emil Michael, under secretary of war for research and engineering and a 2026 Wash100 Award winner, said the financing would help ensure the U.S. and its allies "control the data needed to maintain our decision advantage in orbit." The LeoLabs commitment follows DOW's announcement Monday that OSC will lend Stoke Space $150 million for a second launchpad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Outside the space sector, the office in July committed up to $820 million to Performance Drone Works to build high-volume production of drone components. What is LeoLabs? LeoLabs provides orbital intelligence to military, civil and commercial customers. In a 2025 interview with ExecutiveBiz, Frazier said the company's radar network was tracking nearly 25,000 objects in low Earth orbit. He became CEO in February 2024 after senior roles at Maxar, GeoEye, IBM and Cisco. The company has also drawn Space Force funding, including a $60 million SpaceWERX Strategic Funding Increase to field a Seeker radar in the Indo-Pacific by 2027. As of September 2025, LeoLabs had raised about $140 million and booked more than $50 million in new awards the prior year.

LeoLabs up for $150 million loan from dod to expand space domain awareness network. Wednesday, November 4th, 2026 The Defense Department's Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) has made a $150 million conditional loan commitment to LeoLabs to expand the company's global network of radars that look upward to detect, track and identify spacecraft and objects in low Earth orbit and very low Earth orbit. The loan commitment requires a $150 million match by LeoLabs and the completion of due diligence, financial, legal and other requirements by the California-based company before it is finalized. The loan terms sheet has... Please contact us at [email protected] or call us at 888-707-5814 (Monday - Thursday 9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. and Friday 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET.), to start a free trial, get pricing information, order a reprint, or post an article link on your website.