Company | Falcata Systems

Production Approach

Lean manufacturing

Falcata Systems was founded to close a gap in the defense market: large contractors carry overheads that push unit costs well above €5,000, while commercial off-the-shelf alternatives are barred from tactical use. We close that gap with a lean manufacturing protocol built around three principles:

Scalable electronics: 4-layer PCBs with ENIG finish, prototyped in-house via hot-plate thermal processing to protect IP during early development.
3D-printed chassis: Manufactured via local 3D-print farms using aero-grade PLA (LW-PLA) reinforced with carbon fiber.
Rapid iteration: This approach removes the need for expensive injection molds, letting us update aerodynamic designs within 24 hours.

What Drives Us

Mission, vision & values

The principles behind every design decision, from the first prototype to the platforms on our roadmap.

Mission

To design and build field-ready UAS and geospatial intelligence systems that keep working where commercial platforms fail — GPS-denied, contested, and mission-critical environments.

Vision

To be the reference lean-manufacturing partner for tactical-grade unmanned systems across Portugal's defense and civil protection forces, and allied NATO nations.

Values

Field-tested: Every design decision is validated against real operational conditions, not lab benchmarks.
Lean by design: We solve engineering problems with process, not budget.
Operator-first: We build for the people who fly and maintain the platform, not the brochure.

Leadership Team

Founders

The engineering and operational work behind Falcata Systems is carried out by a two-person founder team focused on agile development and field-tested hardware.

Mike

Founder — Sensor Integration & Software Architecture

Leads technical software development for the Vanguard UAS: programming the flight microcontroller, coding radar odometry, and integrating sensors such as the 60GHz FMCW radar and LiDAR modules for GPS-denied environments.

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Nuno

Founder — Hardware & Manufacturing

Oversees physical construction and structural integrity: the 3D-printed chassis, hardware assembly, mechanical actuators, and translating our lean manufacturing protocol into field-ready systems.

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Regulatory & Compliance

Compliance & trust posture

Operating in defense and civil-protection procurement means our regulatory and export-control posture has to be as verifiable as our hardware.

Regulatory & Certification

[COMPLIANCE INFO TBD — ANAC/EASA drone certification status]

Export Control & Procurement

[COMPLIANCE INFO TBD — ITAR / NATO STANAG compliance posture]