What HEKA does

HEKA Aero LLC is a privately held aerospace and defense engineering company headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, founded in 2017 by Chris Marot. The firm delivers vertically integrated engineering services spanning software, electrical, mechanical, and avionics disciplines to enterprise and government customers in the aerospace, defense, and industrial sectors. Its named customer base includes NASA, USSOCOM, the US Army, Boeing, Airbus, Collins Aerospace, L3Harris, General Electric, MARTAC, and urban air mobility participants Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation, supported by AS9100D, ISO9001, ITAR, DO-178C/DO-254, and RC-319 certifications and a GSA Schedule contract vehicle. Founder Chris Marot's prior track record includes co-founding Certon Software (grown to 60 employees) and Novel Engineering (grown to 90 employees and acquired Riverside Technical Services).

HEKA operates a productized technology portfolio alongside its services offering, designed as an integrated flight stack: HEKALink (a digital twin 6-DoF flight simulation platform that exports certifiable command/control, GNC, and autopilot software); HekOS (a safety-critical real-time operating system with DO-178C/DO-254 compliance, distributed free of charge to displace incumbents charging $100K-$M in licensing); the DRIMU Nautilus dead-reckoning IMU (AI/ML Kalman filtering, sub-0.1 mm/hr drift, GPS-denied); RF Lamprey (AI-enhanced software-defined radio with adaptive frequency hopping and ECCM); VOLT-AI battery management (>99% efficiency, ITAR/NDAA-compliant); Flight Controller & Autopilot (DO-178C/DO-254 certifiable, triple-redundant); Small UAS; SpectraCAD portable spectrometer; the patented Gimbaled Fan / dual-axis tilt-rotor technology (first of its kind for aircraft); and the HALO HALE UAV operating at 60,000 feet. AI/ML is applied across navigation, signal processing, adaptive control, scheduling, and predictive analytics.

HEKA monetizes through project-based custom engineering engagements (multi-year contracts with dedicated in-house engineering teams), hardware product sales (DRIMU, BMS, RF Lamprey, flight controllers, UAS), and software licensing for the HEKALink platform, with GSA Schedule enabling direct federal procurement. Distribution is direct enterprise sales to primes, defense agencies, and government. The company is founder-owned and has disclosed only a single $200,000 funding event in January 2025, implying a bootstrap-heavy, services-funded model with hardware and software product revenue still in early ramp. Headcount is 101-250 employees.

Name

HEKA

Legal name

HEKA Aero LLC

Website

https://heka.works

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

HEKA Aero is a private aerospace and defense engineering firm in Melbourne, Florida, providing software, electrical, mechanical, and avionics engineering services alongside a productized stack (HEKALink digital twin, HekOS RTOS, DRIMU, RF Lamprey, BMS, flight controllers, UAS) to NASA, USSOCOM, US Army, Boeing, Airbus, and eVTOL OEMs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aerospace and Defense Engineering

NAICS

Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing (334220), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Electronic Components & Accessories (3670), Aircraft Parts & Auxiliary Equipment, Nec (3728)

akta.pro primary industry

Military Avionics, Mission Computers & Flight Controls (IMABAMAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Autonomous Flight Control & Guidance Systems (UAS/Urban Air Mobility) (IMABAFAO), Military Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) & Autonomous Aerial Platforms (IMABAMAC), UAS Integration, Certification & Compliance Systems (Remote ID, Detect-and-Avoid) (IMABAIAO)

Keywords

• Aerospace engineering services
• Defense technology products
• Safety-critical avionics
• Digital twin simulation
• Flight control systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Engineering Services: Custom software, electrical, and mechanical engineering services provided to aerospace, defense, and industrial clients. Project-based engagements with top-tier engineers providing quick turnaround times and end-to-end project management support. Services include systems engineering, embedded software, avionics, RF systems, and integration.
2. Hardware Products: Productized aerospace and defense technology including DRIMU (IMU), Battery Management Systems, RF systems, Flight Controllers, Small UAS, and complete aircraft platforms (HALO). Products are certifiable to DO-178/DO-254 standards for safety-critical applications.
3. Software Licensing (HekOS): HekOS RTOS provided free of charge to displace competitors. While not a direct revenue stream, this strategy drives adoption of complementary products and services by making HEKA the preferred partner for safety-critical embedded systems.
4. Digital Twin/Simulation Platforms: HEKALink simulation platform enables creation of digital twins, streamlines flight control software development. Revenue from software deployment, support, and integration services for the platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

HEKA provides custom engineering services (electronics, software, mechanical) and sells productized aerospace and defense technology platforms. The portfolio spans safety-critical RTOS, digital twin simulation, flight controllers, navigation sensors (IMU), battery management systems, software-defined radios, small UAS, HALE UAVs, and patented tilt-rotor hardware to aerospace primes, defense agencies, and industrial customers.

Product overview

HEKA is an aerospace and defense engineering company offering a portfolio of interconnected products designed to compress the path from requirements to flight. The product portfolio centers on HEKALink (Digital Twin 6-DOF flight simulation platform), DRIMU Nautilus (dead reckoning IMU), VOLT-AI Battery Management System, RF Lamprey (software-defined radio), HekOS (safety-critical RTOS), Flight Controller & Autopilot, Small UAS, SpectraCAD (AI spectrometer), GDF (Gimbaled Fan Technology), and HALO (HALE UAV). These products integrate with each other: HEKALink generates flight control software that runs on the Flight Controller; DRIMU provides GPS-denied navigation for Small UAS; RF Lamprey enables secure communications; HekOS provides the underlying RTOS for all HEKA-developed embedded applications; and VOLT-AI powers battery management across platforms. The portfolio serves aerospace, defense, and industrial sectors with DO-178/DO-254 certified, ITAR-compliant solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HEKALink: Digital Twin 6-DoF Flight Controls Design IDE for simulating aircraft and developing flight controls.
• HekOS
• HEKA Aero

Products and services

• HEKALink 6-DOF digital twin flight simulation platform that exports control software including command and control, GNC, and autopilot to run onboard aircraft. Supports SIL, MIL, and HIL environments for fixed-wing, rotorcraft, and hypersonic applications.
• DRIMU Nautilus 6-axis waterproof dead reckoning inertial measurement unit using MEMS and HRG sensors with multi-source GNSS and AI/ML Kalman filtering for GPS-denied navigation. Drift less than 0.1mm/hr; 12 hours of operation on a single charge in an 8oz IP67 form factor.
• VOLT-AI Battery Management System ITAR/NDAA compliant battery management system achieving over 99% efficiency, supporting 1-4P and 4S-13S battery configurations up to 60V and 150A. DO-178 and DO-254 certified with AI-driven SOC predictions and anomaly detection.
• RF Lamprey AI-enhanced software-defined radio combining advanced antenna technology with adaptive frequency hopping. Supports VHF, UHF, L-Band, S-Band, and C-Band; AES-256 encryption and ECCM against jamming and spoofing.
• HekOS Hard real-time embedded operating system with deterministic task scheduling, low-latency response, modular microkernel architecture, AI-optimized scheduling, and fail-safe mechanisms. DO-178C/DO-254 compliant.
• Flight Controller & Autopilot AI-enhanced adaptive flight controller with real-time sensor fusion, triple-redundant sensor inputs, and DO-178C/DO-254 compliance. RC-319 certifiable and designed for rotorcraft, hypersonics, and fixed-wing applications.
• Small UAS Turnkey lightweight carbon fiber unmanned aerial system with waterproof IP65 rating, AI-powered autonomous navigation, modular payload system, AES-256 encryption, swarm capability, and GPS-denied navigation via DRIMU integration.
• SpectraCAD Portable, self-contained ruggedized spectrometer with IP56 rating that uses AI/ML to identify functional groups in samples at 0.1% volume concentration with accuracy comparable to GC-MS. Includes a cloud-based analytics portal.
• GDF (Gimbaled Fan Technology) Patented dual-axis tilt-rotor technology for advanced VTOL maneuverability and stability, beneficial for eVTOL applications in urban environments and retrofittable for submersibles.
• HALO High-Altitude Long-Endurance UAV High-altitude long-endurance UAV operating at 60,000 feet above commercial airspace for atmospheric data collection, multi-sensor weather data, redundant control systems, GPS-denied geolocation, and sea state monitoring.
• Engineering Services Custom engineering services delivered by dedicated teams of in-house engineers on a project basis for aerospace, defense, and industrial clients. Includes software, electrical, and mechanical engineering with Agile and Waterfall project management support.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 99% energy efficiency in battery management systems
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability15 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Griffon AerospacecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 October 2025HEKA Aero and Griffon Aerospace collaborated on the Valiant Tiltrotor program to develop advanced simulation, autonomy, and safety technologies for next-generation aircraft. The partnership involves integrating Griffon's Valiant aircraft into HEKA's Digital Twin simulation environment, with focus on reliability, safety, and digital validation.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@HEKA-aero
• Facebookfacebook.com/HEKA-61571446599985
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/heka-company
• Instagraminstagram.com/heka_works_florida
• Xx.com/HEKA_Works

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HEKA