Harbinger Drives Deeper Into Defense With In-Q-Tel Backing

TechNexus Venture Collaborative portfolio company Harbinger is moving deeper into defense with a new strategic investment from In-Q-Tel.

The investment and expansion into government and national security markets comes with the company's launch of Harbinger Praesidia, a new vertical focused on unmanned hybrid-electric ground vehicles for military applications. The announcement comes alongside Harbinger's recent partnership with American Rheinmetall to develop next-generation robotics and uncrewed ground vehicles for military modernization efforts.

Harbinger co-founder and CEO John Harris brings direct experience at the intersection of defense technology and hardware manufacturing, having previously led hardware engineering and manufacturing of Anduril's first product, the Sentry Tower.

"The government needs robust vehicles that can support a wide range of use cases without forcing operators to compromise on payload, range, exportable power or durability," Harris said in a news release. "Our American designed, engineered and assembled vehicles fulfill this need while supporting domestic manufacturing capacity, which is itself a national security asset. At the same time, these unmanned vehicles are engineered to help keep soldiers out of harm's way without compromising on performance."

In-Q-Tel, the not-for-profit strategic investor for the U.S. national security community, joined Harbinger as a strategic investor to support the company's expansion into government and defense markets, Sara Jones, Principal at IQT, explained.

"Harbinger's vertically integrated vehicle platform brings together power generation, energy storage, mobility, and flexible configuration in a way that is highly extensible to emerging government and national security needs," Jones said. "Harbinger's combination of proven commercial vehicle technology and U.S.-based manufacturing aligns with the U.S. government's effort to leverage cost-effective commercial innovation for military use."

That commercial track record includes partnerships with companies like FedEx, which last year placed an initial order for 53 Harbinger electric vehicles. Through the TechNexus ecosystem, Harbinger partnered with Thor Industries to develop the world's first hybrid electric Class A motorhome.

Harbinger Praesidia vehicles are tailored for military logistics, battlefield communications, troop transport, perimeter security and counter-drone operations. It uses the same medium-duty plug-in hybrid chassis as Harbinger's commercial vehicles, with added capabilities for payload, range, remote operation and exportable power.

The Praesidia comes with a "Stealth Mode" that disables exterior lights, acoustic alerting devices and the onboard generator, reducing noise and thermal signatures — giving military units a tactical advantage in operations where detection risk is high.

The hybrid-electric system allows the vehicle to provide external power and recharge in the field. The standard configuration offers more than 500 miles of hybrid range and about 105 miles of fully electric range. The vehicle can also operate as a mobile power source, exporting up to 350 kilowatts to external systems — enough to power communications gear, sensors, counter-drone equipment or other field systems without relying on separate generators.

Available in three wheelbases with an 18,000-pound payload capacity, the Praesidia also integrates advanced mesh radios that support teleoperation at up to 5 kilometers line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight operations at unlimited range with satellite communications. Top speed is 65 mph, with gradeability exceeding 30%.

The vehicle is built for extreme environments, operating in temperatures from minus 30 degrees Celsius to 55 degrees Celsius and at altitudes up to 12,000 feet across snow, standing water, loose surfaces, potholes and ruts. Charging runs from 10% to 80% in about four hours on AC power and about one hour with DC fast charging.

By Jim Dallke at TechNexus Venture Collaborative