Ironward Defense is a Tampa-based platform led by a 15-year Aerospace & Defense operator and a 100%+ service-disabled Army veteran majority owner. We are actively pursuing capital partners, acquisition opportunities, and prime contractor relationships to stand up an SDVOSB-certified precision-manufacturing operation in the SOCOM corridor.
Capability set Ironward Defense is being built to deliver, via acquisition of or partnership with an AS9100D-aligned precision manufacturer in Florida.
3-, 4-, and 5-axis machining targeted for complex aerospace and defense components in aluminum, titanium, stainless, and high-temp alloys.
Configuration management, risk management, first-article inspection, and FOD prevention — targeted via acquisition of or partnership with an AS9100D-certified shop.
SDVOSB sole-source up to $7M, plus WOSB and 8(a) eligibility — the contract vehicles most primes can't touch.
Built to engage Tier-1 prime supplier-diversity programs and SDVOSB flow-down opportunities across the defense industrial base.
Low-quantity, high-mix production with tight tolerances — the work most large shops won't take and most small shops can't hold quality on.
Tampa-based operation in the MacDill / USSOCOM corridor — local to the largest concentration of SOF procurement decision-makers in the U.S.
A 100%+ service-disabled Army veteran majority-owner unlocks a stack of federal small-business certifications most A&D manufacturers can't access.
Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business. Sole-source up to $7M in manufacturing.
Veteran-Owned Small Business. Federal & VA-mandated set-aside access.
Woman-Owned Small Business. $5B+/year in federal set-aside contracts.
SBA Business Development Program. 9-year window, $30B+/year market.
// The companies below are organizations the founding operator has worked with, sold into, or maintained professional relationships with during his 15+ year Aerospace & Defense career. These are individual industry relationships — not contracted business of Ironward Defense.
Ironward Defense is led by a 15-year Aerospace & Defense operator and a 100%+ service-disabled Army veteran majority owner.
15+ years working inside the Aerospace & Defense industrial base — earlier program experience at Lockheed Martin and GDIT, currently in Public Sector at Salesforce. Direct working knowledge of GovCon procurement, complex program execution, and digital transformation across the DoD ecosystem.
The federal procurement system allocates over $30 billion annually in set-aside contracts to Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses — yet the majority of AS9100D-certified manufacturers lack the ownership structure to access this market.
Ironward Defense closes that gap: a certifiable SDVOSB ownership structure paired with an AS9100D production backbone via acquisition or partnership, operated by a team with direct A&D industry experience — purpose-built for the defense mission.
Ironward Defense is in formation. We're building the platform through three parallel streams — if any of these is you, reach out.
Investors, private equity firms, family offices, and co-investing operators interested in backing an SDVOSB precision-manufacturing platform with a credentialed operator and a structurally rare certification stack.
AS9100D-aligned precision shops in Florida (Tampa Bay preferred) where the owner is open to acquisition, joint venture, or platform partnership — particularly succession-stage shops with strong A&D customer history.
Warm introductions to supplier-diversity, subcontracts, and small-business liaison leads at Tier-1 and emerging A&D primes — the relationships that translate into subcontract pipeline once the platform stands up.
USSOCOM, DoD, VA, and federal civilian program offices and procurement officers interested in tracking a forming SDVOSB precision-manufacturing source in the Tampa / MacDill corridor.
Capital partner, owner of an AS9100D shop open to a conversation, prime contractor supplier-diversity lead, or program-office stakeholder — reach out.