Best Aerospace, Maritime and Defense Companies in North Carolina, United States
The 55 best Aerospace, Maritime and Defense companies in North Carolina, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Collins Aerospace.
Our analysis of 50 Aerospace, Maritime and Defense companies
$6.7b in tracked funding; 89% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.
Ranked: Best Aerospace, Maritime and Defense companies in North Carolina
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Collins Aerospace Suppliers of aerospace and defense products | $4M | 43 mo ago | Funding Raised | K Binu Managing Director - Collins Aerospace | 2000 | SitecoreBootstrapYouTube+18 | — | 3 expansions |
| 2 | Jarrettbay Builder of custom sportfishing boats and provider of related services | $1M | 95 mo ago | Funding Raised | — | 1986 | WordPressMySQLPHP+31 | — | — |
| 3 | AeroMed Group Provider of aerospace engineering services | — | 65 mo ago | Series A | — | 2000 | — | 2 patents Microfluidic flow control and static mixing solutions for medical device applications | — |
| 4 | Curtiss-Wright Motion & flow control applications for industrial applications | — | 92 mo ago | Public | — | 1929 | DrupalApple iCloud MailPHP+23 | 311 patents Pressure relief valve systems for fluid pumps and low‑pressure fluid handling | — |
| 5 | VX Aerospace Diversified conglomerate operating across aircraft industries | — | 151 mo ago | Funding Raised | Bob Skillen Founder | 2007 | — | 5,889 patents Aircraft interior components and thrust‑deflection systems for commercial airframes | — |
| 6 | 0-Glaunch Operator of modified aircraft providing microgravity and airborne testing services | — | — | Unfunded | — | 2019 | — | — | — |
| 7 | Aapa-Ports Advocate for US port infrastructure and provides industry services | — | — | Unfunded | Cary Davis President & CEO | — | Windows ServerMicrosoft ASP.NETIIS+10 | — | — |
| 8 | advanced machining and tooling Advanced Machining and Tooling provides CNC precision machining and toolmaking services to OEM customers. | — | — | Acquired | — | 1985 | — | — | — |
Top 5 Aerospace, Maritime and Defense companies in North Carolina
#1
Funding Raised · Charlotte, North Carolina · founded 2000 · 67 employees$4.5Mraised▾
Suppliers of aerospace and defense products. The company is engaged in designing, manufacturing and servicing systems and components for commercial, regional, business and military aircraft, helicopters and other platforms. The company is a part of United Technologies Corporation(UTC).
- Dec 2022Grant (prize money)$2M
- Jan 2021Grant (prize money)$98K
- Jan 2020Grant (prize money)$138.9K
- Apr 2018Grant (prize money)—
#2
Funding Raised · Beaufort, North Carolina · founded 1986 · 54 employees$1Mraised▾
Builder of custom sportfishing boats and provider of related services. This includes new boat construction, refitting existing vessels, and comprehensive service and repair capabilities. The company also offers marine parts, apparel, furnishings, and marina services. A focus on craftsmanship and customer needs is central to the business model.
- Jul 2018Grant (prize money)$1M
#3
Series A · Charlotte, North Carolina · founded 2000 · 12 employees—raised▾
Provider of aerospace engineering services
- Jan 2021Series A—
#4
Public · Charlotte, North Carolina · founded 1929 · 8100 employees—raised▾
Curtiss-Wright Corporation designs, manufactures and overhauls products for motion control and flow control applications. It provides a variety of specialized metal treatment services. Its engineering products and services cater to the commercial, defense, energy and industrial markets. Its 3 segments include Commercial/Industrial (for commercial aerospace and citical industrial market), Defense, and Power Generation and naval aerospace market
#5
Funding Raised · Morganton, North Carolina · founded 2007—raised▾
Diversified conglomerate operating across aircraft industries
Funding & investor landscape
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Aerospace, Maritime and Defense coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Defense Technology is moving in the United States
A read on the academic research around Defense Technology — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 462 United States-affiliated papers.
- Pennsylvania State University19
- United States Air Force Research Laboratory15
- United States Naval Academy12
- U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology10
- Naval Postgraduate School9
- Photonics2→4
- Jamming6→7
- Electronic warfare55
- Radar36
- Missile32
- Missile defense18
- Jamming12
- Aerospace engineering2→4
- Cruise missile4→5
Where defense tech is researched across United States
Location clusters by institution affiliation — each city's volume, stance tone, and a quick read on its hot topic, what's advancing, the opening opportunity, and the main concern.
Who's filing defense tech patents in the United States
United States defense tech patent filing is accelerating — 57 filings from 65 assignees (2016–2025), led by Raytheon, BAE SYS INF & Elect SYS Integ, AAI; annual filings 3→6.
- Raytheon17
- BAE SYS INF & Elect SYS Integ15
- AAI10
- Leonardo Electronics US10
- Lockheed10
- Rocky Research7
- Huggett James M5
- Stroili Frank D5
Common questions
Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.