Dragonfod is a Welsh defence startup. Our founding team of flight-control engineers, cryptographers, and ex-UK-SF operators set up in Betws-y-Coed in April 2026. We have nothing shipping yet — and that is the point.

Most of the defence products on the market were designed in the 2000s, iterated through a committee, and shipped a decade late. We are building new platforms, from scratch, in small numbers, with a tight operator feedback loop. Hardware revisions on a monthly cadence. Firmware builds on a weekly one.

Our work is vertically integrated. Silicon packaging, composite airframes, flight controllers, radios, cryptographic enclaves, and the Cipher operating system are being designed and produced under UK-sovereign chain of custody. From 2028, we extend that stack into orbit with a UK-launched sovereign constellation.

We will sell exclusively to the United Kingdom, the United States, and a small circle of treaty allies approved jointly by UK MOD and US DoD. We do not sell to any other party. We will not take any funding that comes with strings attached to that policy.

Graphic · Team

Group photograph of the founding team outside the Betws-y-Coed office. Candid, outdoors, with the valley visible. Replace when photography is available.

Principles

How we work.

Four non-negotiables that govern every programme, every airframe, every line of firmware.

01 / 04
Ship velocity is a capability.
Our operators face threats that evolve in weeks. Our revision cycle matches theirs. The measure of a good week is the number of firmware builds that actually left the airfield.
02 / 04
The operator writes the spec.
Engineering reports to end-users, not the other way around. Every programme has an embedded operator-in-residence who holds veto authority on the user interface.
03 / 04
Sovereignty over convenience.
We machine parts that would be cheaper to import. We run silicon packaging domestically that we could outsource. Autonomy-class systems require a supply chain that cannot be severed.
04 / 04
Transparency under classification.
We believe oversight strengthens deterrence. Every programme will be scoped with clear rules of engagement, clear customers, and a clear legal framework — documented from day one.
Where we are

State of the company.

Dragonfod is small, early, and fast. Founding team bootstrapped. First institutional round opening this autumn.

2026
Founded · Betws-y-Coed
11
Engineers & Operators · Today
20
Target Team · End of 2026
Q3 ’27
First Flight Target

We are hiring engineers who want to build this.

See Open Roles