Covenant Defense Tech Factory Opening and Expansion

Defense tech startup Covenant exited stealth on Wednesday, announcing a 105,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Dallas to produce affordable lower-cost long-range cruise missiles for the U.S. military. The company has raised 250 million across three funding rounds with backing from prominent venture capital firms including Andreessen Horowitz and Peter Thiel's Founders Fund. Covenant's flagship product, the Anthem heavy-payload cruise missile, is designed to offer a low-cost alternative to legacy systems like RTX's Tomahawk while filling the strategic range gap between short-range drones and expensive traditional weapons. The Dallas factory aims to produce 1,000 missiles in its first year, starting serial production in Q1 2027, and eventually scaling to an annual output of 5,000 units. In addition to the factory opening, Covenant secured two Department of Defense contracts on Wednesday, partnering with the Army for test and qualification programs and with the Navy to adapt the Anthem for maritime use. The company also operates international production facilities in Germany and Northern Israel, employing over 200 people globally. The emergence of Covenant highlights the growing influence of venture-backed defense startups and prominent tech investors in shaping U.S. military procurement and defense policy under the current administration. Strategic appointments and substantial capital investments underscore a broader shift toward integrating commercial tech innovation into the defense ecosystem.