Firefly Shares Surge 17% on $1.3 Billion Rocket Engine Deal With AST SpaceMobile

Firefly Aerospace $FLY shares jumped approximately 17% in premarket trading after announcing an agreement worth more than $1.3 billion to supply rocket engines and propulsion technology to AST SpaceMobile $ASTS. AST shares also gained approximately 5.1% before the opening bell.
The three-year agreement covers 36 engines for AST's first three heavy-lift rockets, including 27 Miranda engines and nine vacuum-optimized Vira engines. Firefly will also provide engineering support and license technology allowing AST to manufacture the engines independently.
Each rocket is expected to use nine Miranda engines in its booster, providing approximately 2.07 million pounds of combined thrust based on the engines' stated ratings. The project would give AST greater control over launch capacity as it expands its BlueBird satellite network.
AST will pay Firefly through a combination of cash and shares, with the equity portion subject to lock-up restrictions. Firefly retains ownership of its engine intellectual property.
The deal represents a major commercial commitment for Firefly and a significant step toward launch independence for AST, although developing and operating a new heavy-lift rocket will involve substantial execution risk.