Mar 2026 in brief.
Thirteen events, ≥$5.46B across ten disclosed, 69% of it in two rounds: Shield AI’s $2B Series G and preferred-equity package (Advent, JPMorganChase SIG), announced with its acquisition of simulation company Aechelon, and Saronic’s $1.75B Series D (Kleiner Perkins) thirteen months after its $600M Series C. Space & Launch supplied four of the remaining eleven events: Sierra Space’s $550M Series C (LuminArx) on a national-security pivot, Vast’s $300M Series A for commercial space stations, PLD Space’s $209M Series C led by Mitsubishi Electric (Spain), and Lux Aeterna’s $10M seed for reusable satellites. Valar Atomics raised $450M in equity and debt for high-temperature reactors; Performance Drone Works took $110M from Ondas for military small-UAS production; Nominal added $80M at a $1B valuation. J.F. Lehman completed its purchase of Forged Solutions Group (aeroengine forgings) and Charlesbank-backed Velocity One added Falls Filtration, both undisclosed.
March is the autonomy-platform premium in one frame: two companies, $3.75B, both raising on production capacity (Saronic’s shipyard, Shield AI’s aircraft and Hivemind fleet) rather than software alone. Everyone else in the category is now priced relative to those two. The quieter signal is Ondas building a vertically integrated drone stack: its $110M into Performance Drone Works precedes its $200M Omnisys and $876M DZYNE acquisitions by two and four months.
Activity vs each domain’s own baseline.
Each cell is the number of publicly announced deals in that domain and month. Color compares the month with that domain’s own average over the months shown — not a scale shared across domains — so a dark cell in a small domain means “busy for that domain”, not “large in dollars”. Domains with fewer than 12 events in the window are shown in gray without color. Absolute totals across all 24 months are on the archive home.
| Domain | Apr 25 | May 25 | Jun 25 | Jul 25 | Aug 25 | Sep 25 | Oct 25 | Nov 25 | Dec 25 | Jan 26 | Feb 26 | Mar 26 | 12-mo deals | 12-mo disclosed $ | Last 3 mo vs prior 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missiles, Munitions & Missile Defense | 2 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | – | 14 | ≥$1.96B | 5 vs 3 |
| Autonomous Systems & Robotics | 3 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 38 | ≥$8.59B | 8 vs 10 |
| Space & Launch | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 38 | ≥$11.51B | 11 vs 9 |
| C4ISR, EW & Sensing | – | 4 | 2 | 3 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | 1 | 1 | 16 | ≥$6.44B | 2 vs 4 |
| Cyber & Intelligence | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | 2 | 1 | – | 9 | ≥$839M | 3 vs 1 |
| AI, Compute & Defense Software | – | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 2 | – | 1 | 17 | ≥$2.3B | 3 vs 0 |
| Platforms: Air, Land & Maritime | 1 | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 1 | – | 7 | ≥$5.53B | 3 vs 0 |
| Defense Manufacturing & Industrial Base | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | – | – | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 20 | ≥$6.1B | 7 vs 4 |
| Logistics, Sustainment & Training | 1 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 2 | 1 | 1 | 16 | ≥$335.7M | 4 vs 0 |
| Acquisition, Budget & National Security Policy | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | – | 4 | ≥$177.4M | 1 vs 1 |
| Other / critical technologies | 2 | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 7 | ≥$1.47B | 1 vs 2 |
Top deals.
| Date | Company | Event | Amount | Investors / Acquirer | Domain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-26 | Shield AI | F-D+ | $2B | Advent International; JPMorganChase Strategic Investment Group | Autonomous Systems & Robotics | Source |
| 2026-03-31 | Saronic | F-D+ | $1.75B | Kleiner Perkins | Autonomous Systems & Robotics | Source |
| 2026-03-05 | Sierra Space | F-C | $550M | LuminArx Capital | Space & Launch | Source |
| 2026-03-31 | Valar Atomics | F-EXT | $450M | — | Other / critical technologies | Source |
| 2026-03-05 | Vast | F-A | $300M | Balerion Space Ventures | Space & Launch | Source |
| 2026-03-04 | PLD Space | F-C | $209M | Mitsubishi Electric | Space & Launch | Source |
| 2026-03-25 | Performance Drone Works | F-B | $110M | Ondas | Autonomous Systems & Robotics | Source |
| 2026-03-05 | Nominal | F-EXT | $80M | Founders Fund | AI, Compute & Defense Software | Source |
| 2026-03-10 | Lux Aeterna | F-SEED | $10M | Konvoy | Space & Launch | Source |
| 2026-03-10 | R2 Wireless | F-SEED | $5M | Origin Ventures | C4ISR, EW & Sensing | Source |
Notable undisclosed
- Aechelon Technology · M-STRATEGIC · 2026-03-26 · Shield AI · SourceHigh-fidelity flight simulation, physics-based sensors and synthetic reality for military training.
- Falls Filtration Technologies · M-PE-ADDON · 2026-03-24 · Velocity One (Charlesbank Capital Partners) · SourceMission-critical filtration systems for aerospace and defense platforms.
- Forged Solutions Group · M-PE-PLATFORM · 2026-03-02 · J.F. Lehman & Company · SourceUK/US high-spec forgings provider for aerospace, defense, and space (flight-critical rotating aeroengine components); ~840 employees across seven facilities.
No domain moved outside its normal range.
No qualifying domain changed by 30% or more this issue. We flag a domain only when its last three months differ from the prior three by 30% or more and it has at least 36 events in the trailing 12 months. Smaller samples stay as raw counts on the heat map; we never quote month-over-month percentages.
Fund closes, programs and other items.
Fund closes, government capital programs and other supply-side items sit here, outside the deal statistics.
Capital supply & policy
- 2026-03-05 First In Fund 3 (SBIC Critical Technologies) C-FUNDCLOSE
$148M of investable capital (commitments plus SBA leverage). Early-stage security and defense technology. · Source
Reported, not confirmed
None this issue. Items appear here only when a credible report has not yet been confirmed by a primary source; they never enter the statistics.
Mar activity by domain.
A full section (narrative and table) for any domain with five or more events this month; a compact list otherwise. Each event has one primary domain: the market the money is buying.
Missiles, Munitions & Missile Defense
No events in the issue month.
Autonomous Systems & Robotics
3 events · disclosed floor ≥$3.86B (3 disclosed of 3)
Space & Launch
4 events · disclosed floor ≥$1.07B (4 disclosed of 4)
C4ISR, EW & Sensing
1 event · disclosed floor ≥$5M (1 disclosed of 1)
- 2026-03-10 R2 Wireless · F-SEED · $5M · Origin Ventures · Source
Cyber & Intelligence
No events in the issue month.
AI, Compute & Defense Software
1 event · disclosed floor ≥$80M (1 disclosed of 1)
- 2026-03-05 Nominal · F-EXT · $80M · Founders Fund · Source
Platforms: Air, Land & Maritime
No events in the issue month.
Defense Manufacturing & Industrial Base
2 events · disclosed floor — (0 disclosed of 2)
Logistics, Sustainment & Training
1 event · disclosed floor — (0 disclosed of 1)
- 2026-03-26 Aechelon Technology · M-STRATEGIC · Undisclosed · Shield AI · Source
Acquisition, Budget & National Security Policy
No events in the issue month.
Other / critical technologies
1 event · disclosed floor ≥$450M (1 disclosed of 1)
- 2026-03-31 Valar Atomics · F-EXT · $450M · — · Source
Deal table, method and definitions.
Issue deal table
| ID | Date | Status | Company | Type | Amount | Domain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PULSE-202603-0195 | 2026-03-31 | closed | Valar Atomics | F-EXT | $450M | Other / critical technologies | Source |
| PULSE-202603-0194 | 2026-03-31 | closed | Saronic | F-D+ | $1.75B | Autonomous Systems & Robotics | Source |
| PULSE-202603-0193 | 2026-03-26 | announced | Shield AI | F-D+ | $2B | Autonomous Systems & Robotics | Source |
| PULSE-202603-0192 | 2026-03-26 | announced | Aechelon Technology | M-STRATEGIC | Undisclosed | Logistics, Sustainment & Training | Source |
| PULSE-202603-0196 | 2026-03-25 | closed | Performance Drone Works | F-B | $110M | Autonomous Systems & Robotics | Source |
| PULSE-202603-0191 | 2026-03-24 | closed | Falls Filtration Technologies | M-PE-ADDON | Undisclosed | Defense Manufacturing & Industrial Base | Source |
| PULSE-202603-0199 | 2026-03-10 | closed | Lux Aeterna | F-SEED | $10M | Space & Launch | Source |
| PULSE-202603-0190 | 2026-03-10 | closed | R2 Wireless | F-SEED | $5M | C4ISR, EW & Sensing | Source |
| PULSE-202603-0197 | 2026-03-05 | announced | Nominal | F-EXT | $80M | AI, Compute & Defense Software | Source |
| PULSE-202603-0189 | 2026-03-05 | closed | Vast | F-A | $300M | Space & Launch | Source |
| PULSE-202603-0188 | 2026-03-05 | closed | Sierra Space | F-C | $550M | Space & Launch | Source |
| PULSE-202603-0187 | 2026-03-04 | closed | PLD Space | F-C | $209M | Space & Launch | Source |
| PULSE-202603-0198 | 2026-03-02 | closed | Forged Solutions Group | M-PE-PLATFORM | Undisclosed | Defense Manufacturing & Industrial Base | Source |
Method & coverage
Public sources only · Issue window = first public announcement in Mar 2026 · 13 announced or closed events (F 10 · M 3 · P 0) · Disclosed floor ≥$5.46B across 10 of 13 (23% undisclosed) · Closings of deals first announced in an earlier month are not counted again here · Capital-supply items are sidebar-only and excluded from domain statistics · Heat-map colors use each domain’s own trailing-12-month baseline.
Event codes & terms
Disclosed floor — the sum of publicly disclosed amounts only. Undisclosed deals add zero, so read every total as “at least”.
Announcement month — events are dated to their first public announcement. A close in a later month does not move the event.
Mission domain — the market the capital is buying: the investor’s thesis first, the product second. One primary domain per event.
Heat-map baseline — color compares a month’s count with the same domain’s average over the trailing 12 months shown. Grey means fewer than 12 events in the window, too few to color.
About ASC
Abelian Security Council (ASC) gives clients in defense, national security and critical technologies direct, compliant access to the people who researched, designed, built, evaluated, bought, deployed and competed with the systems they are underwriting. Pulse is the public layer of that work: a curated tape of announced financings, acquisitions and listings, compiled from public sources and published monthly. Clients can schedule a call with Owen Davies, ASC’s Chief Executive. Members can apply to join.