Defense company Valkyrie Dynamics raised €1 million in a pre-seed round for the development and production of miniature radar seekers for FPV drones and autonomous interceptors. The investment round was led by the Paris-based venture studio Hexa, with participation from business angels in the defense tech sector.

Valkyrie also became the first Ukrainian team to join the Hexa Sprint Defense accelerator program, which supports early-stage European dual-use and defense startups.

The startup's headquarters is located in Lithuania, but its physical R&D laboratory operates in Kyiv — this allows testing and refining developments together with Ukrainian military personnel in real time.

A response to the "Shahed season" and bad weather

Modern interceptor drones primarily rely on optical and thermal imaging cameras. However, during heavy rain, fog, or snowfall, their visibility drops to 80% already at a distance of a few dozen meters. In addition, Russia is increasingly using faster jet-powered "Shaheds," whose destruction requires more maneuverable platforms and more reliable sensors.

To solve this problem, Valkyrie created Heimdall — a lightweight (about 100 g) onboard radar terminal guidance seeker that mounts in the nose fairing of an FPV interceptor.

at the final segments of the distance (from 100 to 500 meters), the radar transmits a radar image to the operator instead of optical video, emitting radio waves that overcome any weather obstacles;

the radar supports both FPV navigation and autonomous flight in conjunction with a guidance module. At the same time, the final decision on engagement remains with the pilot or the interceptor's automation;

the target cost of Heimdall in serial production will be less than €300 per unit, which makes mass air defense significantly cheaper compared to traditional missiles costing millions of dollars.

"Our mission is to make mass air defense cheaper and more accessible. We aim to replace $3 million missiles with inexpensive interceptor drones guided by affordable radars. Better sensors will take drone interception to a new level," notes Marcin Kowalewski, founder and CEO of Valkyrie Dynamics.

From a laboratory in suitcases to flight tests

The idea for Heimdall came to Marcin Kowalewski — an engineer-physicist by education — after communicating with Ukrainian military personnel at the European Defence Tech hackathon in London in 2025. Initially, he developed the project on weekends at his own expense, and later packed the equipment into two suitcases and moved to Kyiv, where he set up an R&D laboratory right on the territory of a missile-damaged factory.

By autumn 2026, the company had created a working prototype, and recently conducted flight tests together with autonomous systems developer Korven Systems.

"Valkyrie is solving a problem that every European army will soon face: drones hiding behind bad weather. The team works in Kyiv, where feedback comes within days, not years," commented Hexa VC partner Guillaume Lerouge.

Development plans

The raised financing will be directed toward the production of the first batch of radar seekers, the development of the next generation of Heimdall with an expanded field of view and increased range, as well as team expansion.

In addition to FPV drones, the technology is planned to be adapted for ground armored vehicles and unmanned platforms. At the end of 2026, Valkyrie also plans to open European technical integration centers to participate in NATO procurement programs.