Insider Brief
- Icon has launched Icon Prime, a new defense and space-focused business unit aimed at deploying its robotic construction systems for U.S. military and NASA applications, the company said.
- The unit will focus on modernizing military infrastructure and developing space-based construction technologies, with Will Hurd appointed president to lead strategy and government partnerships.
- Icon said it has secured more than $360 million in government contracts to date, including a $62.8 million Army project at Fort Bliss and a contract valued up to $201 million for infrastructure at Fort Polk, while expanding work with NASA on lunar and planetary construction systems.
Icon has launched Icon Prime, a new defense and space-focused business unit aimed at deploying its robotic construction systems for U.S. military and NASA applications.
According to the company, the unit will focus on modernizing military infrastructure and developing construction technologies for use in space, including lunar surface building, as defense and space agencies look to accelerate deployment timelines and reduce costs.
Will Hurd, a former CIA officer and U.S. congressman, has been appointed president of Icon Prime and will lead strategy and government partnerships, the company said.
“Advanced construction technologies are no longer peripheral to national security, they are foundational to military readiness, force projection, and interplanetary exploration,” Hurd said in the announcement. “ICON is the pioneer in robotics and advanced materials that have fundamentally changed how we build more resilient structures from military installations to disaster response. The need to swiftly build at lower cost is real, and the opportunity to scale where we need it most has never been greater.”
Icon has secured more than $360 million in government contracts to date across agencies including the U.S. Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, DARPA and NASA, with projects spanning military facilities, disaster response and space-related infrastructure.
Icon pointed out it is currently building 10 3D-printed barracks at Fort Bliss under a $62.8 million U.S. Army contract, with construction timelines compressed to months, and has been awarded a separate contract valued up to $201 million to develop infrastructure at Fort Polk in Louisiana.
The Texas-based robotic and 3D-printing construction company indicated it is also working with NASA on space-based construction systems, including technologies designed to use local materials on the Moon and Mars, as part of efforts to support long-term human presence beyond Earth.
Image credit: Icon
