Technician - Avionics Integration

Year-old startup wins spot in U.S. Army interceptor fly-off. Oct 17, 2026 Modified date: Oct 17, 2026 Key Points * Furientis was selected as one of four vendors for a U.S. Army fly-off at the end of fiscal 2027 for a second IFPC Inc 2 interceptor. * The year-old startup recently won its first funded Pentagon contract, raised $25 million, and unveiled a CAML launcher with Rheinmetall at AUSA. Furientis, a missile startup founded just last year, has been picked as one of four companies to fly interceptors in a U.S. Army shoot-off at the end of fiscal 2027, competing to supply a second missile for the service's Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2 air defense system. Co-founder and CEO Brody Franzen announced the selection, describing it as a downselect for a fly-off at the end of a fiscal year that closes on Sept. 30, 2027, without naming the other three companies chosen. The Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2, or IFPC Inc 2, is the U.S. Army's mid-range air defense system for protecting bases and troops from cruise missiles, drones, rockets and artillery. Its truck-mounted Enduring Shield launcher, built by Leidos subsidiary Dynetics, now fires RTX's AIM-9X Sidewinder, and the U.S. Army has spent the past few years looking for a second, more capable missile that can handle fast, low-flying cruise missiles and be built in larger numbers. - ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW - Discover more Military news subscription Global security news Defense news analysis Lockheed Martin and a team of Boeing and Anduril are already competing in the formal second-interceptor program, which moved into its demonstration phase in September after Rafael's U.S. subsidiary was not selected to continue. At the Association of the U.S. Army conference this week, Lt. Gen. Frank Lozano, the service's portfolio acquisition executive for fires, said the U.S. Army would open a parallel path for companies that missed that first cut but kept investing in their own designs, inviting them to bring missiles to the range for a shoot-off in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2027, Breaking Defense reported, and Furientis' selection appears to be part of that track. Franzen and Aris Simsarian, both former engineers at Virgin Orbit and Castelion, founded Furientis in 2025 in the Los Angeles area to build interceptors designed for mass production from readily available parts. The company puts final assembly time at about 30 minutes and says it flight-tests prototypes roughly every two weeks instead of spending years on design before flying. The startup came out of stealth in May with a $5 million pre-seed round, and on Oct. 6 it announced both a $25 million seed round led by Benchmark and its first funded government contract, a prototyping agreement with the U.S. Department of War for a 100-mile-range interceptor intended for homeland defense. According to Franzen, the IFPC selection capped a busy two weeks in which Furientis flew its first horizontal flight test on a government range for the U.S. Army's low-cost interceptor effort and, at AUSA, unveiled a containerized launcher developed with Rheinmetall for the U.S. Army's Common Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher program. He credited the U.S. Army's Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Fires and its defensive fires team, led by Brig. Gen. Guy Yelverton, for opening the door to nontraditional vendors and giving them the resources to speed up development, and said Furientis is now hiring as it prepares its interceptor for the shoot-off due by the end of September 2027. - ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW - Discover more Military technology updates Air Force news Naval forces news Corrections and feedback If you identify a factual or grammatical error in this article, please report it using its corrections form. Executive Editor Support the reporting you read Your contribution helps Defence Blog produce independent defense news and analysis.

American Rheinmetall at AUSA 2026: Lynx XM30, Furientis interceptors and autonomous vehicles. 12 October, 2026 American Rheinmetall is showcasing a range of combat vehicles, autonomous launchers, unmanned ground systems and ammunition at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting & Exposition in Washington, D.C., from October 12 to 14, with Zona Militar covering the event on site. The company's display focuses on technologies supporting U.S. Army modernization, including the Lynx XM30 combat vehicle, the HX tactical truck configured for autonomous launcher operations and several robotic platforms intended for logistics and combat support. At booth #2825, American Rheinmetall is presenting systems developed across the company's international industrial network, highlighting its work in ground combat, tactical mobility, autonomy and precision effects. Its participation comes as the company expands its U.S. industrial footprint and pursues opportunities in Army modernization programs, combining vehicle manufacturing with technologies developed by Rheinmetall and its industry partners. One of the principal systems associated with the display is the Lynx XM30, American Rheinmetall's candidate for the U.S. Army's XM30 Combat Vehicle program, which aims to replace the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. The Lynx is built around a modular architecture intended to accommodate different mission systems and future upgrades, while its participation in the program places Rheinmetall alongside General Dynamics Land Systems in the competition to supply the Army's next-generation combat vehicle. You may also like The XM30 program remains in the prototype and evaluation phase, with the Army assessing competing designs before selecting a replacement for the Bradley. American Rheinmetall's proposal draws on the wider Lynx vehicle family, adapting its architecture to U.S. requirements while emphasizing protection, mobility and the integration of digital systems for future battlefield operations. Another major element of the company's portfolio is the HX tactical truck configured for the Common Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher (CAML) concept, which combines a mobile vehicle platform with a modular launcher intended to operate either autonomously or with a crew. Rheinmetall has reported more than 20,000 HX-family vehicles fielded worldwide, while its autonomous driving technologies have been integrated across multiple chassis types and are intended to support operations in environments where limiting personnel exposure is a priority. The HX-based launcher concept incorporates autonomous navigation, convoy and waypoint driving, teleoperation and automated loading and unloading, with an open architecture intended to accommodate different mission systems and effectors. The platform is designed to provide a mobile launch capability without requiring a separate vehicle design for every weapon system, although specific payload configurations and integration status depend on the individual system being evaluated. The CAML concept has also been linked to Furientis interceptors, introducing a potential missile option for mobile air defense. A separate report from AUSA 2026 describes a live interceptor firing involving a containerized launch module mounted on a Rheinmetall HX vehicle; however, the available information does not establish that the missile used in that test was Furientis's F1.0 Tactical Interceptor, nor does it confirm a procurement decision by the U.S. Army. Furientis is developing the F1.0 Tactical Interceptor around a design intended to support scalable production and lower manufacturing costs, with the company working on key subsystems including the seeker, airframe, control system and solid-propellant rocket motor. The design incorporates forward-mounted canard control surfaces and guidance software using commercially available electronic components, while detailed performance specifications, including the interceptor's engagement range, have not been publicly established in the material reviewed for this article. The company's unmanned ground vehicle portfolio provides another major component of the display, covering platforms designed for resupply, casualty evacuation, electronic warfare and counter-unmanned aircraft system missions. These vehicles are intended to extend the reach of dismounted and maneuver forces while allowing selected support tasks to be performed remotely or autonomously, reducing the need to expose personnel in contested areas. Among these platforms is the Ox, a modular, autonomy-ready unmanned ground vehicle that Rheinmetall is positioning for squad- and platoon-level missions and which is competing in the U.S. Army's Ground Ordnance Autonomous Technologies (GOAT) program. Its proposed roles include logistics, casualty evacuation, electronic warfare and counter-drone operations, with its modular architecture intended to support different payloads according to mission requirements. The medium-class MUSKOX unmanned ground vehicle combines a hybrid-electric chassis with autonomous navigation and AI-driven controls for logistics, sustainment and combat support. Rheinmetall has also linked the platform to the Army's Project Sustainment Program, while the Mission Master SP, also known as the Mission Master Silent Partner, has been down-selected for the Last Tactical Mile program and is designed to support autonomous resupply and casualty evacuation, with optional amphibious capability. Rheinmetall's display also includes the Wild Goose Infantry Modular Robotic System, a platform intended for dismounted forces with a stated payload capacity of 330 pounds and a terrain-dependent range of up to 25 kilometers. Its modular configuration allows it to be adapted to different infantry tasks, complementing the company's larger robotic vehicles with a system designed for operations closer to the squad level. Beyond vehicles and robotics, American Rheinmetall is presenting ammunition and weapons technologies, including 155 mm extended-range propellants and rocket-assisted V-LAP projectiles, airburst ammunition and the Highly-Advanced Multi-Mission Rifle, a shoulder-fired, magazine-fed 40 mm grenade launcher. The company is also highlighting its role as a supplier of components, structures and assemblies for U.S. defense programs, including the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), underscoring the breadth of its manufacturing activities beyond complete vehicle platforms. Publicidad