Greenjets Raises $40M Series A with NATO Backing to Power Next-Gen Aviation

Jan de Vries · 2026-07-17

A London-based aerospace company just landed a massive funding round, and it has the potential to reshape how we think about flight and defense. Greenjets, a company building propulsion systems, aircraft platforms, and launch technologies for the next generation of aviation, announced a $40 million Series A funding round. The round was led by Blossom Capital, with notable participation from the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) and the UK's National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF). ### Why This Matters Right Now This isn't just another startup funding story. The conflict in Ukraine has radically changed the conversation around air power. Drones have become the defining weapon of modern conflict, and the speed of these threats is accelerating fast. According to NIF, Russia produced over 50,000 Shahed-class attack drones in 2025, up from 11,000 just a year earlier. Newer variants are reaching speeds of 310 miles per hour. At those speeds, traditional propeller-based interceptors simply can't keep up. "Turbojets can, but they take up to two minutes to spool up and have constrained supply chains," NIF noted. "Greenjets provides the underlying engines and airframes to close this gap." ### What Greenjets Actually Builds Founded in 2022 by CEO Anmol Manohar and CTO Dr. Guido Monterzino, Greenjets has developed proprietary propulsion architectures that span from electric ducted fans to geared turbofan engines. The company claims its patented engine technology increases aircraft safety while reducing the certification burden. Here's what makes their approach different: - **Integrated portfolio:** They build propulsion systems, aircraft platforms, and launch technologies on a common tech stack - **Rapid iteration:** The shared platform allows fast development and production at scale - **Low-cost manufacturing:** Combined with advanced aircraft integration, this enables quieter, faster, more efficient aircraft ### The Defense Angle You Can't Ignore The company's leadership is clear about their dual-use mission. In a joint statement, Manohar and Dr. Monterzino said: "When we founded Greenjets, our ambition was to develop the technologies that would shape the future of aviation. The conflict in Ukraine has reinforced just how important those same technologies are in protecting lives, strengthening Europe's resilience and enabling the future of flight." Patrick Schneider-Sikorsky, Partner at NIF, put it even more directly: "The speed at which the defense and security drone industry is evolving means that propulsion is the constraint that determines whether an interceptor can close the gap on a 310 mph target or vice versa. Greenjets is addressing this at the engine and airframe level, meaningfully improving the performance of UAS and CUAS companies, without them having to solve propulsion independently." ### What's Next for Greenjets The company is already under contract across multiple UK and international programs, with technologies moving toward demonstration trials with the UK Ministry of Defence and partners this year. They've expanded their UK facilities from 12,000 to nearly 70,000 square feet and are on track to grow from 160 to more than 250 employees. This funding will accelerate their transition from development to production, with plans to deliver thousands of systems over the next 12 months. This is exactly the kind of Allied supply-chain technology that NIF was set up to back. And for anyone watching the intersection of aerospace and defense, Greenjets is a name you'll want to remember.