Response Technologies

What Response Technologies does

Response Technologies, LLC is an advanced material science and additive manufacturing company founded in 2015 by Ed Bard and David Pettey in Coventry, Rhode Island. The company designs, develops, and manufactures 3-D textile reinforced composite solutions, with a product portfolio centered on crashworthy self-sealing fuel cells, dynamic self-sealing polymers, low-density explosion suppression foam (FTES), and broader 3-D textile reinforced composites. Its technology targets the displacement of legacy WWII-era fuel cell materials with lighter, ballistically tolerant, and bio/synthetic-fuel-compatible alternatives, claiming up to 45% weight reduction, 65-foot crash survival, and self-sealing capability for bullet holes up to 14.5mm API. Customers are concentrated in U.S. national defense — primarily the Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, and Naval Air Systems Command — through SBIR Phase I/II contracts and direct procurement, with the company also pursuing aerospace, automotive, energy, and medical adjacencies.

The company operates from a 60,000+ square foot manufacturing facility in the historic former Arkwright building in Coventry, RI, and holds ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D certification (Perry Johnson Registrars) for fuel tank component design, development, and manufacture across fixed wing, rotary, marine, and automotive platforms. It has reported $12 million in cumulative contract wins over five years with a 100% win rate. In December 2020, Bell Textron Inc. (a subsidiary of Textron Inc., NYSE:TXT) acquired Response Technologies, and it now operates as a subsidiary within Bell's Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing Innovation team, providing distribution into Bell's rotorcraft and broader Textron aerospace platforms. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; revenue mechanics are one-time license/contract and hardware sales through government procurement and defense prime integration channels.

Name

Response Technologies

Legal name

Response Technologies, LLC

Website

https://responsetechs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Response Technologies, a Bell Textron subsidiary, designs and manufactures additively manufactured 3-D textile reinforced composites — including crashworthy self-sealing fuel cells, self-sealing polymers, and explosion suppression foam — primarily for U.S. Department of Defense and aerospace customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aerospace & Defense Composite Materials

NAICS

Urethane and Other Foam Product (except Polystyrene) Manufacturing (32615), Laminated Plastics Plate, Sheet (except Packaging), and Shape Manufacturing (326130), Resin, Synthetic Rubber, and Artificial and Synthetic Fibers and Filaments Manufacturing (3252)

SIC

Miscellaneous Plastics Products (3080), Plastics Foam Products (3086)

akta.pro primary industry

Composite Structures & Layup Manufacturing (IMABAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Rotorcraft Airframes, Structures & Composites (IMABABAD), FRP/GRP & Composite Materials (Resins, Fibers, Core Materials) (IMAJAKAC), Aerospace & Defense Technical Textiles (Ballistic/Parachute/Radar-Absorbing/Composites Reinforcement) (IMAOADAF)

Keywords

• Advanced composite materials
• Additive manufacturing
• Crashworthy fuel cells
• Self-sealing polymers
• Explosion suppression foam

Headquarters

HQ city

Cumberland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Department of Defense Contracts: Primary revenue stream from government defense contracts including SBIR Phase I and Phase II awards, DLA contracts for fuel tank components, and Navy/Air Force procurement. Revenue generated through competitive government contracting processes.
2. Defense Contractor Sales: Sales to prime defense contractors including Bell Textron and potentially Sikorsky for integration into military platforms such as Future Vertical Lift (FVL), Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA), and legacy rotorcraft.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Response Technologies designs, develops, and manufactures advanced composite material products — primarily Crash Worthy Self-Sealing Fuel Cells, Explosion Suppression Foam (FTES), and Dynamic Self-Sealing Polymers — using additive manufacturing and proprietary 3-D textile-reinforced composite processes for defense and aerospace customers. These products deliver crash survivability, ballistic self-sealing, weight reduction, and compatibility with bio and synthetic fuel blends for military rotorcraft, fixed-wing aircraft, and ground vehicles.

Product overview

Response Technologies is a Bell Textron company specializing in advanced material science and additive manufacturing. The company offers a portfolio of disruptive composite solutions including Crash Worthy Fuel Cells (self-sealing, ballistically-tolerant fuel cells for military aircraft and vehicles), Explosion Suppression Foam (FTES - additively manufactured explosion suppression material for fuel tanks), Dynamic Self-Sealing Polymer (self-healing elastomeric polymer for ballistic protection), and 3-D Textile Reinforced Composites. These products serve the aerospace, defense, automotive, energy, and consumer product industries with a focus on fuel safety and weight reduction.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Crash Worthy Self-Sealing Fuel Cells Additively manufactured, self-healing, ballistically-tolerant, and crashworthy fuel cells for Future Vertical Lift (FVL), Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA), legacy military rotorcraft, and ground vehicles. Withstand a 65-foot crash, self-seal bullet holes up to 14.5 mm API, and are compatible with bio and synthetic fuel blends.
• Explosion Suppression Foam (FTES) Additively manufactured low-density, low-volume explosion suppression material for aircraft fuel tanks, compatible with bio-fuel and synthetic fuel blends. Provides up to 60% improvement in fuel displacement, up to 70% reduction in weight, 2x operating life, and approximately 20% procurement cost reduction.
• Dynamic Self-Sealing Polymer Advanced elastomeric polymer blend that self-heals when punctured and quickly returns to original shape. Features memory polymer properties, compatibility with bio and synthetic fuels, and repairability; used in fuel cells to improve aircraft and aircrew safety through greater ballistic protection and reduced weight (up to 45% weight reduction).
• 3-D Textile Reinforced Composites Advanced composite materials utilizing additive manufacturing to develop elastomers, plastics, coatings, foams, textiles, and fibers. Features include no seams, less waste, increased strength and performance, extreme light weighting, reduced total ownership costs, improved survivability, capability to embed functional sensors and actuators, and rapid design and production of new components.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 45% weight reduction in fuel cells with dynamic self-sealing polymer
• +11 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered major.

• Sikorsky InnovationsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Response Technologies was selected as an honorable mention in the 6th Annual Sikorsky Entrepreneurial Challenge in 2015 and is now working with Sikorsky's Aircraft & Aircrew Protection (A&AP) program. Sikorsky's technical and commercial support was essential to securing Phase II SBIR contracts with the Defense Logistics Agency.
• Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNAVAIR awarded Response Technologies a Phase II SBIR contract for development and demonstration of FTES (Fuel Explosion Suppression) materials for fuel suppression with military requirements for tear resistance, stability and flammability.
• Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple SBIR Phase I and Phase II contracts awarded by DLA for rotorcraft fuel bladder weight reduction, total ownership cost reduction, and inflatable hulls programs. Featured as a DLA success story.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Meggitt Fuel Systems (Parker Hannifin): Direct peer in crashworthy/self-sealing fuel cells and bladder systems for military rotorcraft and fixed-wing aircraft. Both supply crashworthy fuel systems to defense primes and DoD agencies, and Meggitt is the long-established incumbent that Response Technologies is positioning to displace on next-generation programs.
• GKN Aerospace (Melrose Industries): Direct peer in advanced composite structures and additive-manufactured aerospace components. GKN supplies composite airframe parts, fuel systems, and integrated composites to defense and commercial aerospace primes, overlapping directly with Response Technologies' 3-D textile reinforced composites platform.
• Triumph Group: Direct peer in aerospace fuel system components, structures, and composite assemblies for military and commercial aircraft. Triumph supplies fuel bladders, crashworthy systems, and composite parts to DoD primes, serving the same customer base as Response Technologies.
• Senior plc: Direct peer in engineered aerospace fluid conveyance and structural components, including fuel systems for military and commercial aircraft. Senior supplies flexible fuel tanks and composite structures to the same defense prime ecosystem that Response Technologies targets.
• Trelleborg AB (Aerospace): Direct peer in engineered polymer and elastomer solutions for aerospace fuel systems and sealing applications. Trelleborg supplies fuel bladders, seals, and elastomeric components for military and commercial aerospace, overlapping directly with Response Technologies' self-sealing polymer and composite fuel cell products.

Broad incumbents

• HEICO Corporation: Broad incumbent in aerospace and defense component manufacturing, including specialty parts and proprietary technology for military platforms. HEICO's proprietary parts and technology solutions provide an adjacent model for how a focused aerospace component supplier can scale and capture value in defense markets.
• Hexcel Corporation: Broad incumbent in advanced composites manufacturing for aerospace and defense, including carbon fiber reinforcements and composite structures used in rotorcraft and military aircraft. Hexcel supplies composite materials into the same platforms that Response Technologies targets with its 3-D textile composites.
• Spirit AeroSystems: Broad incumbent in composite and metallic aerospace structures for military and commercial aircraft. Spirit's expertise in large-scale composite aerostructures provides a comparable technology and scale benchmark for evaluating Response Technologies' composite structures opportunity.

Emerging players

• Avon Protection (Cavendish): Emerging player in protective elastomeric and composite materials for defense applications, including chemical/biological protection. While not a direct fuel cell competitor, the company uses comparable self-sealing polymer and composite material technologies and serves adjacent defense end-markets.

Others

• Cubic Corporation (Honeywell): Adjacent participant in military and aerospace systems integration, including through its defense and transportation segments. While not a direct materials competitor, Honeywell supplies integrated fuel and propulsion systems into the same rotorcraft platforms, making it a downstream integrator/customer for Response Technologies' components.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ResponseTechs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/response-technologies-llc

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Response Technologies