Qualis joins forces with two other space, missile defense firms
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By
Ross Wilkers
Bluestone Investment Partners first backed Qualis in 2024 and is using that company as a foundation to form a larger entity that now employs 400 people.
Qualis, a modeling and simulation services provider backed by Bluestone Investment Partners, is joining forces with two other companies to form a larger entity focused on space and missile defense programs.
InTrack Radar Technologies specializes in ground-based radar and electro-optical products, while Tektonux works on incorporating artificial intelligence tools into command-and-control systems.
The combined company now employs approximately 400 people, while financial terms of their transaction announced Wednesday were not disclosed. The customer base includes the Army, Space Force, Air Force, Missile Defense Agency and NASA.
Electronic warfare and integrated fires solutions are also key legs of the strategy for this company, which will design its hardware and software offerings for use in missile early warning and space surveillance systems.
"This combination of capabilities represents a major advancement in our ability to support the warfighter across the sensor-to-shooter continuum," Qualis’ chief executive Rod Duke said in a release. "By bringing together pioneering domain expertise, continuously-improved software and hardware, and mission-proven engineering, we are able to produce and pivot faster for our customers' new missions."
On the AI front, its flagship Phoenix NexGen User Experience Framework is built to integrate AI agents into human teams for command-and-control functions and missile defense applications. Signal collection and analysis represent a pair of other use cases the combined company is touting.
Bluestone, the private investment firm focused on lower middle-market companies in the government market, first invested in Qualis during the summer of 2024 to aid the latter’s push for expansion in the satellite communications and missile defense domains.
That initial backing followed Bluestone’s receipt of a technology initiative license via the Small Business Investment Company fund, through which investors receive venture funds to back small businesses via agency-supported loans.