Tiberius Aerospace Secures $500 Million Sceptre Contract Establishing First Scaled Deployment of Defense-as-a-Service

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tiberius Aerospace today announced a $500 million technology collaboration contract to manufacture, license and distribute Sceptre, its U.S.-designed and developed precision-guided munition, marking the first scaled deployment of its Defense-as-a-Service model.

Moving from desktop concept to contract in just 24 months, Sceptre demonstrates a new model for allied nations to share development risk, manufacture sovereign capability and continuously improve defense systems together.

The collaboration is supported by an International Traffic in Arms Regulations Technical Assistance Agreement between Tiberius Aerospace and a consortium of U.K. technology partners, enabling authorized cooperation across engineering, technology development and industrial participation. It builds on the U.S.-U.K. special relationship and provides the foundation for a wider federation of allied defense partners.

At the center of the model is GRAIL, Tiberius Aerospace’s AI-powered platform connecting requirements, engineering, suppliers, compliance and manufacturing. Together, Defense-as-a-Service and GRAIL are designed to turn the ingenuity and industrial capacity of allied economies into capability that can be developed faster, produced more resiliently and improved continuously.

Former U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has called for stronger links among allied defense industrial bases, more integrated supply chains and greater co-production of key technologies. Tiberius Aerospace’s model reflects that broader policy direction by combining centralized engineering with sovereign allied production.

“The West’s greatest strategic advantage is the freedom to invent, compete and build,” said Chad Steelberg, founder and CEO of Tiberius Aerospace. “Our ambition is to turn that advantage into our greatest weapon: the collective innovative power of the free market. GRAIL connects that ingenuity, while Defense-as-a-Service provides the commercial model to bring it into service. Sceptre is the first scaled manifestation of that vision.”

A New Model for Allied Capability

Traditional defense acquisition often requires individual governments to carry substantial research, development, test and evaluation costs before production begins. Allies with similar operational requirements can therefore fund parallel programs, duplicate engineering effort and establish disconnected supply chains.

Tiberius Aerospace’s Defense-as-a-Service model is designed to spread that investment and risk across a broader allied market. Tiberius Aerospace develops, tests and validates technology that can then be licensed to qualified manufacturers and partner nations, enabling countries to build sovereign production capacity from a shared technology foundation.

The $500 million Sceptre contract brings that model to scale, connecting technology development, commercial demand and distributed manufacturing within a common framework.

“Deterrence depends not only on having the right capability, but on maintaining a strong industrial and technological base that can respond rapidly to emerging threats. The collaboration on Sceptre demonstrates the value of bringing together U.K. and U.S. technological expertise to explore advanced artillery technologies and strengthen transatlantic defence cooperation. Initiatives such as this help mature future concepts and reinforce the industrial relationships that underpin alliance advantage,” said General Sir Roly Walker, Chief of the General Staff, British Army.

“Modern conflict has reinforced a fundamental lesson: munitions capacity is essential to sustaining combat power. The United States is stronger when our allies and partners have the industrial capacity to produce interoperable systems at speed and scale, expand production when demand increases, and adapt as battlefield requirements change. Building greater depth, resilience, and responsiveness across the allied industrial base strengthens readiness and deterrence and gives the joint and coalition force the capacity to sustain combat operations and win,” said Admiral (ret.) Gary Roughead, 29th Chief of Naval Operations.

Strengthening the Special Relationship and Allied Supply Chains

The Technical Assistance Agreement provides the framework for authorized technical collaboration between Tiberius Aerospace and its participating U.K. partners, translating the U.S.-U.K. special relationship into practical cooperation across engineering, testing and industrial development.

The broader Defense-as-a-Service model is designed to create a federated network of qualified allied partners, with technology access governed by applicable authorizations. By distributing expertise and production capacity, the model can reduce dependence on individual suppliers, create additional manufacturing pathways and strengthen the ability to respond to disruption or increased demand.

As Russia’s aggression underscores the need for sustained allied readiness, Tiberius Aerospace believes deterrence depends not only on the quality of defense technology, but on the resilience and scalability of the industrial base behind it.

GRAIL: Mobilizing Allied Innovation

GRAIL provides the connective infrastructure for this network. It enables Tiberius Aerospace and any allied OEM to identify and evaluate technologies, coordinate qualified suppliers, manage compliance and support manufacturing against a controlled engineering baseline.

The platform is designed to open defense programs to a broader pool of Western innovation, from specialist engineering businesses and advanced manufacturers to established defense suppliers, creating a route for qualified technologies to reach multiple allied markets.

Sceptre’s modular, open architecture supports this model by allowing qualified components and technologies to be incorporated as the system evolves. Combined with GRAIL, it creates a framework in which advances can be assessed, integrated and made available across the participating industrial network.

Sceptre, Tiberius Aerospace’s ramjet-powered 155mm precision-guided munition, is designed to deliver extended-range precision from existing NATO-standard artillery platforms. Its development has included work under contract with the U.K. Ministry of Defence, support from the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit and a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center.

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