Covenant, a Washington-based defense company, has exited stealth with over $250 million in funding and approximately $150 million in booked orders for its Anthem long-range weapon system. The company also opened a 105,000-square-foot factory in the Dallas area that is scheduled to begin serial production in the first quarter of 2027, marking a significant shift in how defense startups are approaching manufacturing at scale.

What Makes Anthem Different From Existing Long-Range Weapons?

Anthem is designed to carry a heavy payload over long distances while costing a fraction of comparable legacy weapons. The system completed its maiden flight in August 2025 and has since flown more than 200 times, including multiple tests with the U.S. Army both domestically and overseas. Covenant engineered Anthem as an end-to-end deep-strike system with simplified storage, transport, launch and reloading requirements, addressing what the company sees as a critical gap in Western precision-strike inventories.

The weapon's design philosophy centers on addressing a strategic vulnerability.

"When you look at our adversaries, you see thousands of hardened targets, beyond the range of current capabilities," said Michael Kaufman, co-founder and chief executive officer of Covenant. "Anthem was built to credibly hold those targets at risk in a prolonged conflict. If our stockpiles run thin, so does our deterrence."

Michael Kaufman, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Covenant

Most Anthem components are commercially available, while Covenant has secured long-term agreements for other key parts. The company has also created its own mission-planning and command-and-control software to support coordinated launches involving multiple weapons. This approach allows Covenant to maintain supply chain resilience by drawing on local suppliers in allied countries during wartime.

How Is Covenant Planning to Scale Production Across Multiple Countries?

Covenant's production strategy extends beyond the Texas facility. The company operates a 110,000-square-foot facility in Saxony, Germany, and a 32,000-square-foot facility in northern Israel. The Dallas-area factory is expected to ramp toward annual production of 5,000 Anthem systems, with manufacturing planned for the United States, Germany and Israel to serve American and allied customers.

The company's order book includes qualification work, research and development agreements, and several production contracts. Covenant holds an Other Transaction Agreement with the U.S. Army covering an accelerated testing and qualification program. It also holds a contract with the U.S. Navy's Rapid Capabilities Office to adapt the ground-launched weapon into a Maritime Anthem variant, valued at roughly $70 million and including a cost-sharing component.

• Funding Sources: The $250 million funding round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Lux, 8VC, Aleph and Lightspeed, indicating strong venture capital confidence in the defense manufacturing model.
• Government Contracts: Covenant's order book includes U.S. Army qualification agreements, U.S. Navy adaptation work for a maritime variant, and additional awards expected before the end of the year from customers who may not permit public disclosure.
• International Manufacturing: The company plans to manufacture Anthem in the United States, Germany and Israel, leveraging allied supply chains and local expertise to ensure production continuity during extended conflicts.

The Navy contract also funds Defense Exportability Features design changes intended to accelerate potential exports to U.S. allies and partners. This suggests Covenant is positioning Anthem not just as a domestic capability but as a potential export product for NATO and allied nations.

Why Is Production Scale Becoming the Central Challenge in Defense Tech?

Covenant's emergence reflects a broader shift in defense procurement priorities. The company's founding philosophy aligns with the Pentagon's Replicator Initiative, which emphasizes moving quickly to scale delivery of affordable, capable systems.

"In the first Replicator Initiative, we focused the Pentagon on moving fast to scale delivery of small, inexpensive autonomous systems," said Kathleen Hicks, former U.S. deputy secretary of defense and an adviser to Covenant. "That same focus is needed to drive production and delivery of affordable capabilities at higher ranges and larger payloads. Covenant has built Anthem in direct alignment with Replicator's principles."

Kathleen Hicks, Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense and Adviser to Covenant

This represents a fundamental change in how the Pentagon evaluates defense startups. Rather than focusing solely on technological innovation, military planners are increasingly concerned with manufacturing capacity and the ability to produce weapons in the quantities a sustained conflict would demand.

"We don't lack advanced weapons, we lack enough of them, and that's a production question as much as technology one," said Mike Garcia, a former U.S. representative and an adviser to Covenant. "Anthem is Covenant's answer, a missile designed from day one to be built in the numbers a real fight demands."

Mike Garcia, Former U.S. Representative and Adviser to Covenant

Covenant is actively recruiting for engineering, manufacturing and operations positions at its Texas site as production preparations continue. The company's willingness to invest in physical manufacturing infrastructure, rather than relying solely on contract manufacturers, signals confidence in sustained demand and reflects lessons learned from recent geopolitical tensions that have exposed vulnerabilities in Western weapons stockpiles.

The venture capital backing from top-tier firms like Andreessen Horowitz suggests that investors view defense manufacturing as a long-term opportunity, not a cyclical market.

"American Dynamism is about backing founders taking on the missions that matter most to America's national security and rebuilding the West's long-range strike arsenal is at the top of that list," said David Ulevitch, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. "Covenant has the technical depth and the urgency the mission requires, and the company has already proven it in the air, not on paper."

David Ulevitch, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz

Covenant's emergence from stealth marks a turning point in how defense startups approach growth. Rather than pursuing traditional venture funding followed by eventual acquisition, the company is building manufacturing capacity and securing government contracts that position it as a long-term supplier. The combination of $250 million in funding, $150 million in booked orders, and a factory designed to produce 5,000 weapons annually suggests that the defense industry's future may depend less on breakthrough technology and more on the ability to manufacture proven systems at scale.