Photo: NASA

Defense tech private equity firm AE Industrial Partners has closed its third flagship private equity firm with $1.28 billion in capital commitments. AE Industrial Partners announced the fund, Fund III, on Tuesday. 

AEI has already deployed more than a quarter of Fund III into five platforms and three add-on investments including smallsat manufacturer York Space Systems and launcher Firefly Aerospace. Other investments include cyber tech company RedLattice, Yingling Aviation, and Calca Solutions. 

The fund is focused on middle market companies in national security, aerospace, and industrial services. AEI said it plans to invest in the “toll gates” of the aerospace and defense supply chains and “support key industry suppliers as they scale up production to meet ongoing and increased demand.” 

AEI received commitments to Fund III from a mix of institutional investors in the U.S. and around the world, including leading endowments, charitable foundations, public and corporate pensions, financial institutions, funds of funds, family offices, and sovereign wealth funds.