Insider Brief
- Allen Control Systems has raised $200 million in a Series B funding round led by Smash Capital, valuing the autonomous weapons company at $2.2 billion as it expands production of its Bullfrog counter-drone system for the U.S. military and allied nations.
- The Texas-based company said the funding will be used to scale manufacturing, accelerate deployment of Bullfrog and support development of additional autonomous battlefield systems designed to counter the growing threat of unmanned aerial systems.
- Bullfrog combines artificial intelligence, computer vision and robotics with existing weapons platforms to detect, track and engage drones, and is already deployed with the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy, according to the company, which said the system achieved a 100% success rate during the T-REX 26-1 counter-drone testing event.
Allen Control Systems has raised $200 million in a Series B funding round to expand production of its autonomous counter-drone weapons systems for the U.S. military and allied nations.
The round was led by Smash Capital and included participation from existing investors including Craft Ventures, Rally Ventures and Inspired Capital, according to the company. The latest funding round puts the defense technology company’s value at $2.2 billion.
“Drone threats are growing faster than traditional air defense systems can meet them. Today, we are at risk of a catastrophic strike both abroad and at home,” co-founder and CEO Mike Wior said in the announcement. “Bullfrog provides governments with a scalable and affordable solution that leverages our nearly unlimited supply of bullets all over the world, compared to scarce and expensive missiles and interceptors. This funding helps us scale production to meet the urgent demand from the U.S. and allied partners.”
The Texas-based ACS said the new funding will be used to scale manufacturing, speed up deployment of its Bullfrog autonomous weapon station and support development of additional products.
What is Bullfrog?
Bullfrog combines artificial intelligence, computer vision and robotics with existing weapons systems, including the M240 machine gun, to detect, track and engage drone threats. According to the company, the system is designed to provide a lower-cost alternative to missile-based air defense systems by using conventional ammunition to defeat small and medium-sized unmanned aircraft.
The company said Bullfrog has received contracts through Joint Interagency Task Force 401 and other allied military customers and is already deployed with the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy. ACS reports its platform achieved a 100% success rate during Technology Readiness Experiment 2026, or T-REX 26-1, a U.S. military counter-drone testing event.
ACS recently expanded its manufacturing operations in Austin and said it is continuing development of autonomous battlefield systems intended to help U.S. and allied forces respond to emerging threats.
“Global demand for remote weapon stations has reached unprecedented levels as governments recognize kinetic defeat as the most reliable solution against low-cost weaponized drones,” added Steve Simoni, co-founder and President. “We are rapidly expanding our advanced manufacturing so we can get systems into the field faster.”
