Terran Orbital Receives $100 Million Investment from Lockheed Martin
Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP), a global leader in satellite-based solutions primarily serving the United States and Allied aerospace and defense industries, announced that it has entered into a note and warrant purchase agreement pursuant to which Terran Orbital received a $100 million investment from Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) in exchange for convertible notes and warrants issued by Terran Orbital.
In connection with the investment, Terran Orbital and Lockheed Martin also entered into a new Strategic Cooperation Agreement (SCA). The new SCA runs through 2035 and allows Terran Orbital to pursue a wider variety of opportunities with Lockheed Martin.
Terran Orbital intends to use the funds to acquire additional satellite assembly space, increase module production, and satisfy working capital needs while expanding advanced manufacturing abilities. Terran Orbital’s advanced manufacturing capabilities, which were originally planned for expansion on Florida’s Space Coast in partnership with Space Florida, have been accelerated and will now be based in Irvine, California. Terran Orbital has added over 140,000 square feet in Irvine alone in the past 12 months.
Terran Orbital’s disruptive technologies provide customers with innovative and cost-effective solutions. The SCA with Lockheed Martin creates further opportunities for both organizations to share their expertise and relationships to advance emerging technology across military, commercial, and civil customers. This will be achieved by focusing on:
Mission assurance at both the satellite and constellation architecture level
Speed and schedule to deliver timely solutions for the most demanding and mission-critical customers
Affordability through innovation with an industrial approach, combined with capacity and facility enhancement to deliver and share an unprecedented value proposition
Terran Orbital believes there are growing unmet needs in adjacent markets to the company’s core satellite offerings. In order to address these needs, Terran Orbital plans to expand product and service offerings to include:
Payloads including Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Electro-optical, Hyperspectral, Infrared, and Secure Communication
High-reliability satellite subassemblies and component offerings, including, but not limited, to Star Trackers, Flight Computers, Reaction Wheels, Battery Solutions, and Guidance, Navigation and Control solutions
Mission operations for satellites using Terran Orbital and partner ground networks
Other defense-related products
The conflict in Ukraine has highlighted the need for advanced satellite imagery. Terran Orbital intends to address such demand through a specialized SAR satellite product line based on the company’s PredaSAR satellites. Terran Orbital plans to no longer pursue its own constellation and believes that offering PredaSAR as a product is a financially efficient and expeditious method of getting SAR technology into the hands of those protecting and defending our Nation and Allies.
“In today’s market, customers want the industry to determine the leaders that will deliver timely, quality, and affordable solutions across a variety of missions,” said Terran Orbital Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer Marc Bell. “This is a continued expansion of our collaboration with Lockheed Martin, and complements and accelerates the decision Terran Orbital made amid the lingering supply chain crisis to continue to vertically integrate products and components to facilitate full in-house satellite and manufacturing production. We see the opportunity to dramatically ramp up our capabilities and external product offerings, which we believe will move Terran Orbital toward profitability.”
Terran Orbital will provide more details on the investment and the company’s forward outlook during the company’s Q3 financial results call on Wednesday November 9th.