Beehive Industries, a US manufacturer specialising in the design and development of advanced, additively manufactured jet engines for uncrewed aerial defence applications, has been awarded a $29.7 million contract from the US Air Force to complete vehicle integration, flight testing, and qualification of the company’s 200lbf Frenzy 8 engine.
This award, which is seen as a ‘pivotal step toward operational readiness and scalable production of Beehive’s flagship propulsion product’, also includes funding to advance Beehive’s 100lbf Frenzy 6 engine, beginning with the manufacturing of a First Engine to Test (FETT) asset and options for further testing, vehicle integration, and flight demonstration.
The award supports a ‘small expendable turbine’ (SET) ‘family of affordable mass munitions’ (FAMM) prototyping effort. The SET engine programme is a key component of the US Air Force’s broader strategy to develop, produce, and qualify low-cost, disposable jet engines for uncrewed aerial systems and standoff systems.
Beehive uses additive manufacturing (AM) to produce low-cost jet engines at high speed, and its Frenzy engine is specifically designed for mass-produced munitions and swarm-class drones. Gordie Follin Beehive Industries’ chief product officer, said: “By harnessing AM to collapse complex supply chains into scalable, 3-D printed propulsion, we are providing the ‘affordable mass’ essential to modern deterrence. This collaboration ensures our ‘warfighters’ will have the high-volume, mission-ready capabilities they need to maintain a competitive edge in any theatre.”
The award builds directly on Beehive’s achievements over the past year, during which the team validated the Frenzy 8 engine through ground testing and high-altitude testing in record time while demonstrating scalability. Amid ongoing ground testing, Beehive launched a ‘Pathfinder’ programme to validate production scalability and the results ‘proved out Beehive’s path for mass engine production’ starting this year.