This is how it got the Army to buy them.
Defense tech startup Blue Halo was founded five years ago by Jonathan Moneymaker, a Gold Star Brother.
Its high-energy laser systems are now officially being deployed overseas by the Army to shoot down drones.
Moneymaker told BI why succeeding in defense tech isn't just about having the most groundbreaking solution.
"Our job is to keep men and women that are putting themselves in harm's way safe and bring them home."
It's the kind of patriotic mission statement echoed by plenty of eager young defense startups. 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 have saved his life. And part of this is making sure that others have that opportunity."
Moneymaker is now five years into running Blue Halo. In that time, and with the backing of private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners, it has designed, tested, and fielded the Army's first major laser weapon system. It's a rapid rate of turnaround, practically unknown to the bigger, more established defense contractors.
After securing a $1 billion contract from the Pentagon this year, Blue Halo is now delivering its Palletized High Energy Laser (P-HEL) system to the Army, enabling them to blast drones out of the sky with AI-powered pinpoint accuracy.
ut it's not just lasers. Blue Halo also produces autonomous systems, counter-drone technologies, space technology, and cyber warfare solutions, all underpinned by its machine learning software, Metis.
"If you look across our portfolio of focus and offerings, there are very few [competitors] that can rival us in that totality," CEO Jonathan Moneymaker told BI.
nduril, or Epirus — which are increasingly biting at the heels of defense primes — but following a merger this year with Eqlipse Technologies, Blue Halo is fast approaching $1 billion in revenue and has 2,400 employees across 11 states.
And the contracts keep flowing in. This week, it secured a $95.4 million contract with the Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) to develop prototype directed energy (DE) solutions.
"If you don't understand this process, then the primes tend to win," Blank told BI.
Unlike the swathe of Silicon Valley tech firms eyeing up defense, Blue Halo has its roots on the other side — Moneymaker has spent the last 25 years in the defense industry base.
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 primes in our space, but we have the entrepreneurial and innovative speed and spirit of some of the newer entrants."
What has been critical, said Moneymaker, is understanding not just what the military needs but how to earn the trust of defense officials and navigate the procurement process to get it into their hands.
Silicon Valley is facing "some learning curves" in this regard, he noted.
Often, tech companies will have exquisite groundbreaking technology, but it's not actually what the military needs, or it will be incredibly hard to actually field, he told BI.
"Knowing where it's applicable and where it's not is incredibly important. Frankly, if you haven't grown up in this environment, sometimes that just takes a little longer to get familiar with," said Moneymaker. "We listen better than a lot of our competition."
Another factor Moneymaker sees as an advantage is Blue Halo's lack of Silicon Valley ego.
"We lead without ego," said the Blue Halo CEO. "We've all done exciting things in our careers, but this is about being part of something bigger."
But despite its industry-insider knowledge and an Arlington base, there are still some sides of Blue Halo that it shares with traditional tech — like a somewhat cringy company community name: Halo Nation.
Next, like any successful startup, it is planning a path to IPO, hoping to be ready within a year. If all goes to plan, the "ring of protection" that Moneymaker says Blue Halo represents will only be getting bigger.
Also:
BlueHalo Providing U.S. Army With Full-Cycle Support For High Energy Laser Systems
Establishes BlueHalo as the full-cycle lead system integrator from prototype development to frontline operations for the P-HEL system.
The Palletized High Energy Laser system, developed by BlueHalo in support of the U.S. Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO), has a proven track record of successfully engaging and eliminating small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) threats to forces and critical infrastructure–a rapidly growing concern to U.S. battlefield dominance. BlueHalo was awarded a four-year logistics support contract to provide preventative and corrective maintenance along with operator and maintenance team training for BlueHalo's P-HEL system. This newly awarded contract establishes BlueHalo as the full-cycle lead system integrator from prototype development to frontline operations for the P-HEL system.
"With this contract, BlueHalo is now providing full-scale Directed Energy support to our customers–at home through advanced innovation, in the field through maintenance and training support, and strategically through operational guidance and battlespace management," says Jonathan Moneymaker, BlueHalo Chief Executive Officer. "Our industry-leading Directed Energy expertise and intimate knowledge of the P-HEL system, combined with lessons learned from deployment, will truly transform how our Warfighters use laser weapon systems to combat evolving enemy sUAS threats."
As the foundation of P-HEL, BlueHalo's LOCUST Laser Weapon System (LWS) combines precision optical and laser hardware with advanced software, artificial intelligence (AI), and processing to enable and enhance the directed energy "kill chain". LOCUST LWS addresses the inherent need for mobility and quick deployment–tracking, identifying, and engaging of a wide variety of targets with its hard-kill high energy laser.
In April 2022, BlueHalo delivered its first mature prototype of the P-HEL system. The U.S. Army RCCTO deployed the unit overseas, where it commenced operational employment in November 2022. Earlier this year, BlueHalo's second P-HEL was delivered and deployed overseas. Both P-HEL systems have undergone preventative and corrective maintenance in the field, to maintain operational tempo and continue operator system training.
"We're excited to continue our partnership with the Army and RCCTO to support P-HEL," says Jimmy Jenkins, BlueHalo Sector President. "This program captures BlueHalo's ability to take advanced innovation from rapid prototype to deployment to sustainment, integrating new technologies into operational systems to strengthen our defenses against next-generation air threats."