Best Aerospace, Maritime and Defense Companies in Tennessee, United States
The 37 best Aerospace, Maritime and Defense companies in Tennessee, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Malibu.
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 Tennessee
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Malibu Manufacturer of watersports towboats and related accessories | $106M | 111 mo ago | Public | — | 1982 | PHPDebianApache HTTP Server+20 | — | — |
| 2 | 3P Satellite Provider of space research services | $905K | 25 mo ago | Seed | Calvin Spears Co-CEO | 2024 | — | 5 patents Patents concentrated in construction | — |
| 3 | Building Shooters Provider of shooting training services to defense sector | $100K | 66 mo ago | Seed | Dustin Salomon Founder | 2017 | WordPressProton MailMySQL+22 | — | — |
| 4 | Contouraviation Provider of private jet charter, regional airline, and aircraft services | — | 31 mo ago | Funding Raised | Matt Chaifetz CEO | 1982 | WebflowreCAPTCHAHSTS+7 | — | — |
| 5 | Adpma Offers aircraft engineering, manufacturing, airline maintenance and operations support services | — | — | Acquired | David Blythe EVP Engineering / Co-Founder | 2001 | WordPressApple iCloud MailMicrosoft 365+36 | — | — |
| 6 | aerospace products international Aerospace Products International is a distributor of aviation products. | — | — | Acquired | Aaron P Hollander Chairman | 1988 | — | — | — |
| 7 | America's Navy Provider of maintaining security and civilian medical practice | — | — | Unfunded | — | 1995 | DrupalApple iCloud MailPHP+37 | — | — |
| 8 | American Ordnance Manufacturer of artillery, tank ammunition, mortars, and mortar components | — | — | Unfunded | — | 2003 | PleskWindows ServerMicrosoft ASP.NET+11 | — | — |
Top 4 Aerospace, Maritime and Defense companies in Tennessee
#1
Seed · Nashville, Tennessee · founded 2024$905Kraised▾
Provider of space research services
#2
Public · Loudon, Tennessee · founded 1982$105.8Mraised▾
Manufacturer of watersports towboats and related accessories. The company designs and produces a variety of boats for wakeboarding, wakesurfing, and waterskiing. They also offer a line of proprietary engines and various accessories to enhance the on-water experience. The boats are known for their performance and luxury features. A focus on innovation is evident in the company's technological advancements in boat design and functionality.
- May 2017Post IPO$762K
- Apr 2015Conventional Debt$105M
#3
Seed · Silver Point, Tennessee · founded 2017 · 3 employees$100Kraised▾
Provider of shooting training services to defense sector
- Feb 2021Seed$100K
#4
Funding Raised · Smyrna, Tennessee · founded 1982 · 342 employees—raised▾
Provider of private jet charter, regional airline, and aircraft services. It offers maintenance, avionics, sales, and management for aircraft. The company provides fixed base operations and government services. It operates a fleet ranging from light jets to commercial airliners.
- Feb 2024Unattributed—
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
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.