CycloKinetics Launches to Fuel America’s Military and Space Dominance

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – May 04, 2026 – After fifteen years of quietly developing high-performance fuels for the U.S. military, CycloKinetics, Inc. has officially launched as a dedicated aerospace and defense propellant company. The Salt Lake City-based firm is formalizing a long-standing collaboration with every branch of the armed forces, stepping into the public eye with a suite of advanced, drop-in fuels already in live operation on multiple military platforms. The move signals a broader strategic shift in the defense sector, positioning the energy that powers aircraft, missiles, and rockets not as a mere consumable, but as a critical driver of mission capability and technological overmatch.

A Strategic Shift in Propulsion

The launch comes at a time when the demands on military hardware are rapidly evolving. According to the company, the traditional calculus of air and space power is changing, with propulsion becoming a central factor in mission success. “Across defense and space, propulsion is no longer a background variable but a primary driver of mission capability,” said Mukund Karanjikar, CEO and founder of CycloKinetics. “As operational demands evolve, advanced propellants have become a critical lever for extending range, increasing endurance, and enabling entirely new mission profiles that were previously out of reach.”

This perspective is detailed in a new whitepaper released by the company, titled Pilots, Planes, and Propulsion: America’s Trifecta for Another Century of Air Superiority. The paper argues that in an era of strategic competition, particularly in vast theaters like the Indo-Pacific, the ability to project power depends directly on the energy density and performance of fuels. Advanced propellants, the paper contends, can provide substantial increases in range and endurance, reducing the military's reliance on vulnerable mid-flight refueling tankers and complex logistical chains. This focus on enhancing existing platforms without costly redesigns is a significant value proposition in a market projected to grow to over $568 billion by 2035, where efficiency and performance are paramount.

By framing fuel as a decisive factor, CycloKinetics is challenging the defense establishment to prioritize propellant innovation on par with platform innovation. As the company’s products are already deployed, this is not a conceptual pitch but a proven capability being brought to scale.

Fifteen Years in the Making

CycloKinetics' emergence is not an overnight development. The company is the culmination of a 15-year research and development journey that began under its predecessor, sustainable aviation fuel provider CleanJoule, also founded by Karanjikar. That work, which served both commercial airlines and the military, has now been formalized into a dedicated defense entity built to operate at the speed and scale required by military customers. “Building superior fuels has been our business for 15 years, and that work has earned us the trust of leading airlines and every branch of the U.S. military,” Karanjikar stated.

The company’s core offering is a portfolio of three advanced, “drop-in” propellants designed to integrate seamlessly with existing engines and fuel systems:

• CycloJP: A high-energy density replacement for conventional jet fuels like JP-8 and Jet A, it enhances range and enables more efficient operation in extreme high-altitude and high-speed conditions for both manned and unmanned aircraft.
• CycloRP: A high-performance liquid rocket fuel replacement for RP-1, it offers greater energy density to increase payload capacity per launch. Its cleaner combustion also reduces engine wear, a critical factor for the growing fleet of reusable launch platforms.
• CK-10: A next-generation replacement for JP-10 missile fuel, engineered to significantly improve the range and standoff distance of missile platforms through higher energy and combustion performance.

The “drop-in” nature of these fuels is a key advantage, allowing the Department of Defense to upgrade the performance of its existing fleets without the immense cost and time associated with developing entirely new propulsion architectures.

Bolstering Leadership with Military and R&D Expertise

To guide its strategic integration into the defense ecosystem, CycloKinetics has made two high-profile additions to its leadership team. General Tod D. Wolters (Ret.) has joined the company’s Board of Directors. A distinguished 40-year Air Force veteran, Gen. Wolters most recently served as the Commander of U.S. European Command and as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), where he was instrumental in leading the alliance’s response to the war in Ukraine. His deep understanding of global strategic challenges and operational requirements provides CycloKinetics with invaluable top-level insight.

Complementing this strategic military experience is the appointment of Dr. Oscar Ruiz as Senior Vice President of Strategy & Solutions. Dr. Ruiz joins from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), where he served for over 15 years, most recently as Chief of the Biomaterials Branch. An AFRL Fellow, his extensive background in military research and development is critical for aligning the company's technological innovations with the specific, rigorous requirements of defense and aerospace customers. Together, these appointments signal a serious, well-rounded strategy to embed the company's solutions within the core of U.S. defense planning and procurement.

Domestic Fuel for a Resilient Defense Force

Underscoring its commitment to national security, CycloKinetics is producing its fuels at an industrial manufacturing facility in Salt Lake City that became operational in 2025. This focus on domestic production directly addresses a major strategic vulnerability: reliance on foreign supply chains for critical defense materials. The Department of Defense has recently made significant investments to re-shore the production of essential materials like black powder and hydrazine, and CycloKinetics’ domestic manufacturing capability aligns perfectly with this national security imperative.

Furthermore, the company reports that its production process is “feedstock-flexible,” allowing manufacturing to be adapted to locally available resources. This not only strengthens supply chain resilience but also opens the door for distributed and potentially in-theater production, which could dramatically reduce logistical burdens in a conflict. By ensuring a secure, scalable, and domestic supply of high-performance propellants, CycloKinetics is offering a solution that enhances both technological superiority and logistical resilience.

With its formal launch, CycloKinetics is establishing propulsion as a core layer of defense innovation. By improving the performance of existing assets and unlocking the full potential of next-generation systems, the company is positioning advanced fuels as a central driver of mission capability across air, space, and autonomous systems for years to come.