Built, manufactured, and transitioned hard technology — twice.
Helicon Defense is led by David Sherrer, a founder, inventor, and hard-tech operator with two successful exits, 125+ issued patents, and deep program experience with nearly every major U.S. defense prime. The pattern that matters: invent, manufacture, transition, sustain — under quality systems, with real production, against real defense programs.
A track record of taking advanced technology from invention through manufacturing into acquisition.
Haleos / ACT MicroDevices — acquired by Rohm and Haas (2003)
Co-founded Haleos and ACT MicroDevices around wafer-level optoelectronic packaging for high-bandwidth telecom and datacom. The company's optoelectronic packaging patent portfolio — nearly 100 patents — was later sold to Samsung Electronics to fund the next platform.
Nuvotronics / PolyStrata® — acquired by Cubic Corporation (March 2019)
Founded Nuvotronics in 2008 to commercialize PolyStrata®, a 3D additive micro-fabrication process for high-performance RF, microwave, and millimeter-wave components and antennas. The PolyStrata platform advanced through all three phases of DARPA's 3D-MERFS (3D MicroElectrical RF Systems) program and received the DARPA Innovation Award following Phase III execution. Cubic acquired Nuvotronics in March 2019 for approximately $64M plus $8M earn-out. Cubic was itself acquired by Veritas Capital in May 2021 for approximately $3B. Nuvotronics continues to operate as a Cubic subsidiary.
Direct-to-prime, across nearly every major U.S. defense prime.
PolyStrata-based components and subsystems were qualified, integrated, and delivered directly to prime contractors — not through reseller channels. The same direct-to-prime working pattern is the foundation of how Helicon stages transition partners today.
- BAE Systems — deepest partnership; original DARPA 3D-MERFS proposal co-written with Rick Thompson (then at BAE Systems, later employee of Nuvotronics, later Raytheon, now MacroVation Board of Advisors)
- Raytheon (RTX) — DARPA ViSAR program, $2M alongside Nuvotronics' $4.2M and BAE's $1.14M
- Lockheed Martin
- Northrop Grumman
- Boeing
- L3Harris
Also engaged with General Dynamics on a limited basis. PolyStrata components have been demonstrated against programs run by DARPA, the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, and U.S. Marine Corps.
Real production. Real quality systems. Real defense supply.
Nuvotronics stood up and operated under both ISO 9001 and AS9100D aerospace quality management systems, supported by SAP-driven lean manufacturing planning. The company moved from R&D-grade prototype work into recurring, qualified delivery against defense prime production schedules.
- ISO 9001 quality management system stood up and operated
- AS9100D aerospace quality management system stood up and operated
- SAP-supported lean manufacturing operations
- Recurring qualified delivery against prime production schedules
- Facility footprint in Southwest Virginia, Massachusetts, California, and North Carolina across the company lifecycle
A platform built and proven inside DARPA programs.
- 3D-MERFS (3D MicroElectrical RF Systems) — all three phases executed; DARPA Innovation Award following Phase III; foundation of the PolyStrata® process. Program managed by Dr. John D. Evans at DARPA.
- DMT (Disruptive Manufacturing Technologies) — PolyStrata manufacturability scale-up.
- ViSAR (2012) — Nuvotronics $4.2M, alongside Raytheon $2M and BAE Systems $1.14M, for video synthetic aperture radar component development.
- IEEE MTT-S IMS 2019 Best Industry Paper Award — for a 4,096-element PolyStrata D-band flat-panel antenna array demonstrator, in partnership with Nokia.
125+ issued U.S. and foreign patents.
Named inventor on more than 125 issued U.S. and foreign patents across semiconductor devices, RF and microwave systems, advanced packaging, optoelectronics, non-lethal defense, and manufacturing processes. Assignees of those patents include Haleos, Shipley / Rohm and Haas, Nuvotronics, Cubic Corporation, BAE Systems, and Samsung Electronics — reflecting where the work was done, where it was acquired, and where its commercial life continues.
People who built serious technology, together.
The MacroVation Board of Advisors includes Rick Thompson — the BAE Systems engineer who co-wrote the original DARPA 3D-MERFS proposal with David Sherrer, later joined Nuvotronics as an employee through its operating years, and subsequently moved on to Raytheon. The Helicon Defense pathway reflects the same working pattern: founder-to-founder, engineer-to-engineer, with people who have built real production-grade systems.
Serious technology deserves a serious pathway.
If you are an allied innovator, a prime, a manufacturer, or a domain expert with something to offer, the conversation starts here.