Global Defense Program Helps Companies Navigate International Contracts 

It all started 18 years ago with three military veterans sitting around a modest dining room table in Williamsburg, trying to figure out what to do next.

Each one had extensive military experience, a dream, and not much more. So, they started to sketch those dreams on their paper napkins. By the time dinner was over and the table cleared, each agreed to provide $5,000 to found Fulcrum Concepts LLC in rural King and Queen County, aimed at helping companies overcome tactical aviation issues. The company leverages the special operations experience and advanced aerospace engineering know-how of its founders to upgrade, customize, and arm military aircraft.

Fast forward to 2026, and Fulcrum Concepts is now worth millions. But three years ago, it faced a challenge that many small Virginia companies eventually face: how to expand globally without all the necessary international contacts — or the money required to make all the necessary overseas connections?

That's where VEDP’s Global Defense Program (GDP) came to the rescue. The program helps defense-related companies in Virginia diversify and expand into international markets. Through this year-long program, participating businesses receive guidance from a dedicated expert adviser who serves as a trusted partner in developing and implementing an international growth strategy.

Participants can access reimbursement funding for eligible export-related expenses and often use the program to obtain customized market research, strengthen export compliance processes, participate in international trade missions and shows, and access specialized training and industry expertise. Since 2017, it has helped hundreds of Virginia companies expand their export programs and diversify their sales bases. 

“There’s no way that any business can get this much exposure to potential customers in a compressed time frame than what VEDP offers,” said Mike Zinanni, managing member at Fulcrum.

GDP has helped hundreds of Virginia firms land international contracts since its launch in 2017. By helping companies diversify their client base, the program makes Virginia businesses more stable and less vulnerable to domestic downturns. 

Diversifying for Long-Term Growth

“As a small business, we have to look at every dollar we spend,” said Brendan Huff, co-founder of Alexandria-based global intelligence provider Anomaly Six.

Anomaly Six’s technology, among other things, tracks the physical location of millions of mobile phones worldwide. They do this through business relationships around the world to monitor and track global location information across the digital domain.

Back in 2018, Anomaly Six was also founded by a group of military veterans. The company’s technology can track anything from an aircraft trying to sneak narcotics into remote areas to a Russian boat illegally crossing into international waters.

Most of what Anomaly Six supports deals with U.S. national security. But by the early 2020s, they decided they needed to expand internationally to grow. At the time, about 20% of the company’s business went to international clients.

Then, about three years ago, they began working with VEDP. Since then, Anomaly has more than doubled its international sales to about $6 million annually. “It’s really helped us to expand our brand,” Huff said.

The program has enhanced Anomaly’s access to markets in the United Kingdom and other European countries, along with Africa, Asia, and Australia. The company has participated in several international trade missions and trade shows with VEDP’s help.

“Our international partners are facing a dynamic and increasingly complex security challenge,” said Jeff Heinz, one of Anomaly Six’s co-founders. “We remain committed to ensuring that they not only have the best capabilities we can provide, but that our solutions evolve with their evolving requirements. We appreciate them choosing us and we look forward to continuing our many international partnerships.”

Virginia has a significant defense presence because of its proximity to the federal government, with four of the nation’s five largest defense companies headquartered in the Commonwealth. Smaller defense contractors like Fulcrum Concepts and Anomaly Six are dependent on contracts outside the country for their growth. Fulcrum, which started with just three founders in 2008, now has nearly 100 employees.

Fulcrum develops weaponization solutions that are seamless, lightweight, and uniquely suited to endure missions of every type. That includes everything from toolbox kits to ground support equipment like carts and storage racks, to weaponry used in air, land, and sea operations.

The company now has three facilities within an hour of each other in the Hampton Roads area. Zinanni, who was in the U.S. Army for 20 years before retiring in 2008, was working for General Dynamics when he left to co-found Fulcrum.

There’s no way that any business can get this much exposure to potential customers in a compressed time frame than what VEDP offers.

Mike Zinnani

Managing Member, Fulcrum Concepts LLC

Crucial Contacts From a Trusted Partner

Fulcrum contacted VEDP when it was trying to expand internationally but was unable to make the necessary contacts on its own. Although it currently does about 25% of its business outside the USA, its goal is to do 40% internationally.

Zinanni has since gone on three trade missions and attended several industry trade shows. Each mission has saved the company tens of thousands of dollars in expenses and introduced it to new international clients, he said.

For example, for several years in a row, Fulcrum exhibited at the Virginia booth at the International Defense Exhibition show in Abu Dhabi. This is the largest biennial defense and security exhibition in the Middle East, featuring land, sea, and air military technologies.

Zinanni and others also attended a recent trade mission in Colombia, where Fulcrum was trying to develop new business with the Colombian government. That one mission, he said, gave his company direct access to key officials on the acquisition side of the Colombian air force. And Fulcrum has since amassed roughly $5 million in business with the Colombian Aerospace Force, he said. 

“The trade mission gave us direct access to the end user with no middleman,” Zinanni said.

Our international partners are facing a dynamic and increasingly complex security challenge. We remain committed to ensuring that they not only have the best capabilities we can provide, but that our solutions evolve with their evolving requirements. We appreciate them choosing us and we look forward to continuing our many international partnerships.

Jeff Heinz

Co-Founder, Anomaly Six

Outsized Opportunities

In 2025, Anomaly Six participated in the Virginia booth at an international security expo in London. That helped to generate a combined $1.5 million in additional business in the United Kingdom, Huff said. The company’s first international contract was completed in less than six months, a fraction of the time it usually takes to reach an agreement.

At the London show, they not only had full access to the Virginia booth, but also private conference rooms to meet with prospective clients. During that one week alone, Huff estimates, the company engaged in 500 to 600 meetings with potential clients.

By his own estimates, Anomaly Six saved about $30,000 in costs through its participation in the GDP. “Because we saved so much in costs, I was able to bring myself and another co-founder along with me,” he said. 

Ultimately, Huff said, “VEDP made us look much larger than we were.” That’s helped companies like Anomaly Six and Fulcrum Concepts get their technologies into international markets, benefiting national security, regional economies, and local workers alike.