The U.S. Military is getting critical about FPV drones. It chosen Draganfly Inc., which is a publicly traded firm headquartered in Saskatoon, Canada, to produce Flex FPV drone techniques.
However right here’s the place it will get attention-grabbing: as a substitute of simply delivery packing containers of drones from factories again house, Draganfly will assist set up on-site manufacturing services at abroad U.S. Forces areas. That’s proper — the Military needs to construct drones nearer to the place they’ll truly be used.
Why the Draganfly FPV information issues
In case you’ve been following the evolution of drone warfare (and in case you’re studying this website, you in all probability have), you recognize that FPV drones have essentially modified trendy fight. We’ve seen this play out dramatically in Ukraine, the place low-cost, nimble FPV drones have challenged conventional navy {hardware} in ways in which appeared like science fiction only a few years in the past. And the U.S. navy has been paying very shut consideration.
In the course of the Swift Response 2025 train in Lithuania earlier this 12 months, paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade flew and detonated their very own in-house-built FPV drones in opposition to dismounted troops and vehicle-sized autonomous targets. The unit even established its personal drone lab for design, coaching, and fast innovation. Briefly, it created its personal DIY workshop for constructing navy drones.
And in August 2025, the U.S. Military achieved a big milestone: the first-ever air-to-air kill with an armed FPV drone, signaling that drone-on-drone warfare is changing into a actuality.
What Draganfly will do
Below this preliminary order, Draganfly will ship three key elements:
- Flex FPV drone techniques designed for high-performance navy operations.
- On-site manufacturing capabilities inside abroad U.S. Forces services to hurry up deployment and reduce supply-chain delays.
- Complete coaching masking each flight operations and manufacturing, plus logistics administration to make sure NDAA-compliant provide chains.
“We’re honored to help the U.S. Military because it strikes vital drone capabilities nearer to entrance traces,” stated Cameron Chell, President and CEO of Draganfly in a ready assertion. “By combining superior Flex FPV Drone techniques, embedded manufacturing, coaching and safe logistics, we’re serving to reinforce operational agility and sustainment for forward-deployed forces.”
The larger image: decentralized drone manufacturing
This embedded manufacturing strategy represents a big shift in how the navy thinks about drone procurement.
Conventional protection contracts imply ordering gear, ready for it to be manufactured someplace distant, delivery it abroad and hoping it arrives once you want it. That mannequin works superb for some issues, however FPV drones for navy use are totally different. They’re comparatively easy to construct, they’re expendable by design and battlefield wants change quickly.
By establishing manufacturing capabilities nearer to the place drones will likely be used, the Military can reply quicker to evolving threats, cut back logistical vulnerabilities, and provides troopers the flexibility to iterate on designs based mostly on real-world suggestions. It’s agile manufacturing meets navy operations.
This strategy additionally addresses provide chain safety considerations. By manufacturing drones in-theater with NDAA-compliant elements, the Military reduces dependence on probably susceptible worldwide provide chains.
What’s Draganfly?
Draganfly was based in 1998 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Draganfly was constructing professional-grade drones when most of us had been nonetheless enjoying with RC helicopters.
The corporate went public in 2019 (NASDAQ: DPRO) and has been a gradual participant within the skilled drone market, specializing in public security, agriculture, industrial inspections and more and more, protection functions. Draganfly’s drones have appeared within the Smithsonian’s Nationwide Air and House Museum, and the corporate was credited with the world’s first profitable search and rescue mission utilizing a small unmanned aerial system.
What’s FPV?
FPV — is brief for First Particular person View. This type of flying was once primarily the area of drone racing fans sporting goggles and flying custom-built quads by means of impediment programs at excessive speeds.
Now comes an instance of how improvements from the passion and racing world have crossed over into skilled and protection functions.
As I’ve famous earlier than, many drone corporations that began with shopper merchandise have pivoted towards enterprise and navy functions. We’ve seen this with corporations like Purple Cat (guardian firm of Teal), which bought off its FPV racing manufacturers Fats Shark and Rotor Riot to give attention to protection. In the meantime, Skydio shut down its shopper division to focus on enterprise and navy clients. Even Parrot, which principally invented the buyer drone market with the AR.Drone, now focuses nearly completely on enterprise merchandise just like the ANAFI USA for presidency and navy use.
The shift is smart. Navy budgets are bigger and extra secure than shopper markets, safety necessities favor American producers, and up to date conflicts have confirmed that drones — notably FPV drones — are not non-compulsory battlefield gear.
What’s subsequent from right here?
If this pilot program succeeds, we might see related embedded manufacturing packages broaden to different areas and probably different navy branches. For instance, the Air Drive has already proven curiosity in FPV know-how by means of its partnership with the Drone Racing League.
Whereas Draganfly hasn’t disclosed the monetary phrases of this preliminary order, the embedded manufacturing mannequin suggests this may very well be a long-term relationship moderately than a one-time buy. Coaching Military personnel to fabricate their very own drones means Draganfly is positioning itself as an ongoing associate moderately than only a vendor.
Associated
Uncover extra from The Drone Lady
Subscribe to get the most recent posts despatched to your e mail.