Perseus Defense, a startup founded by aerospace engineers, Jason from NASA and Steve from Boeing, has officially launched with an ambitious goal: to build the first low-cost, guided micro-missile system to protect U.S. troops and critical infrastructure from the growing threat of drone warfare.
As drone attacks become increasingly cheap and deadly, Perseus is taking a bold swing at solving what the military calls one of today’s most urgent battlefield problems. The company has joined the Y Combinator Summer 2025 batch (YC S25) and is already turning heads in defense circles.
The Problem: $500 Drones vs $100M Assets
Today’s drone warfare is asymmetric. A $500 off-the-shelf drone can destroy a $100 million asset or take lives on the front line. In many active zones, up to 80% of casualties now come from drone strikes. Yet the cost to neutralize these drones using existing tech — from intercept missiles to high-powered lasers — can exceed $100,000 per shot.
“Right now, the economics of defense are upside down,” says Jason Cornelius, PhD, co-founder and CEO of Perseus. “The enemy spends $500; we spend a hundred grand to stop it. That’s not scalable.”
The Solution: Guided Micro-Missiles for <$10K Per Shot
Perseus Defense is flipping the cost equation. They’re building man-portable guided micro-missile pods that can autonomously detect, identify, and intercept drones — all for under $10,000 per launch. That’s a 20x reduction in cost compared to current alternatives, making drone defense viable at scale.
The system is designed for flexibility, enabling deployment on trucks, boats, or fixed installations. The team says it will be essential for protecting convoys, forward bases, and critical infrastructure in the U.S. and abroad.
The Founders: Aerospace Vets from NASA and Boeing
Perseus was co-founded by:
- Jason Cornelius, PhD – an ex-NASA researcher who worked on the Titan Dragonfly space helicopter and autonomous flight systems.
- Steve Messinger – former Boeing autonomy lead and expert in swarm robotics and drone competitions.
Together, they’ve built orbital vehicles, helped commercial airliners land themselves, and pioneered swarm behavior in unmanned systems. Now, they’re bringing that same precision to the battlefield.
“We didn’t want to wait 5 years to get permission to build the right solution,” says Messinger. “So we left our jobs and built a working prototype in just four days.”
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Early Traction & Mission
Since its incorporation in May 2025, Perseus has already:
- Built a functional drone prototype and guided a micro-missile pod
- Conducted over 60 discovery calls with DoD, DHS, and defense integrators
- Received strong interest for potential deployment in active zones
- Been accepted into Y Combinator’s S25 batch
One Pentagon official reportedly told them: “If you build this, it will be mandatory equipment for every truck, boat, and convoy in the U.S. military.”
Why It Matters
Perseus is launching at a time when the U.S. military is urgently seeking low-cost, scalable CUAS (Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems) solutions. The Department of Defense has acknowledged that traditional systems are too slow, too expensive, and not built for the pace of modern drone warfare.
If Perseus delivers, it could help rewrite the future of force protection, giving U.S. troops and infrastructure the edge they need to counter low-cost aerial threats.
