Defence · 2026

Defence Drone Companies

22 companies Drone Intelligence profiles that sell drones, autonomy, defence data-integration software or counter-drone systems to defence customers, grouped by a selected business area; companies may span several categories. 16 are headquartered or co-headquartered in the United States; the rest are German, Israeli and Australian. Each row links to a sourced company profile.

Grouping is Drone Intelligence's classification, not a ranking. For valuations see drone companies; for tickers see publicly traded drone companies; for programmes and contracts see the defence procurement tracker. This page describes companies and markets; it does not advise on selecting or sourcing systems.

Platforms

Military drone and strike platform makers.

AeroVironmentArlington, Virginia, USA · Listed (NASDAQ: AVAV)

Publicly listed defence and commercial UAS prime. Loitering munitions, ISR, and counter-UAS, expanded into space and directed energy through the BlueHalo acquisition.

Anduril IndustriesCosta Mesa, California, USA · Private

Defence technology company building autonomous platforms and the Lattice AI command-and-control platform. The most heavily capitalised non-traditional defence firm in the US.

Kratos Defense & Security SolutionsRound Rock, Texas, USA · Listed (NASDAQ: KTOS)

Diversified US defence supplier whose unmanned-aircraft business includes jet-powered target drones and the Valkyrie tactical aircraft.

Quantum SystemsGilching (Munich), Germany · Private

German developer of software-defined autonomous reconnaissance and multi-domain unmanned systems, and one of Europe's most highly valued defence-technology companies following its July 2026 Series D.

STARKBerlin, Germany · Private

Berlin loitering-munition maker positioning as Europe's first venture-scale autonomous strike prime, anchored by a Bundeswehr order for its Virtus system.

NerosEl Segundo, California, USA · Private

US manufacturer of attritable first-person-view (FPV) strike drones, built on a China-free supply chain and selected as a primary FPV supplier to the US Army under the Purpose-Built Attritable Systems programme.

Mach IndustriesHuntington Beach, California, USA · Private

Venture-funded US defence manufacturer building a portfolio of low-cost autonomous strike and counter-drone systems around a vertically integrated, distributed manufacturing model.

InsituBingen, Washington, USA · Subsidiary (parent NYSE: BA)

Pioneer of long-endurance small-tactical UAS. ScanEagle has more than 100,000 operational flight hours with US DoD and international customers. Archer Aviation agreed on 9 August 2026 to acquire Insitu, Wisk and SkyGrid from Boeing, subject to customary closing conditions.

SkydioHayward, California, USA · Private

Largest US-origin autonomous drone manufacturer; dual-use enterprise, public safety, and defence platforms.

OndasWest Palm Beach, Florida, USA · Listed (NASDAQ: ONDS)

Publicly listed autonomous-defence platform. A roll-up of ISR, counter-UAS, and drone-in-a-box infrastructure, scaled through the $875.8 million DZYNE Technologies acquisition.

Autonomy and command

Autonomy, command-and-control and mission software.

Counter-drone

Counter-drone defence: detect, track and defeat.

RheinmetallDüsseldorf, Germany · Listed (FWB: RHM)

Germany's largest defence prime and a leading European air-defence supplier. Its gun-based Skyranger and Skynex systems have become NATO's reference answer to the low-cost drone threat.

EpirusTorrance, California, USA · Private

High-power microwave (HPM) counter-drone systems. Leonidas platform is the leading non-kinetic solution for defeating drone swarms at distance.

CHAOS IndustriesLos Angeles, California, USA · Private

Defence technology scale-up. Coherent distributed networks (CDN) for sensing, detection, and counter-UAS effects. $1 billion total raised; $4.5 billion valuation in November 2025.

DroneShieldSydney, Australia (with Virginia, USA operations) · Listed (ASX: DRO)

Pure-play counter-UAS. Publicly listed Australian-headquartered specialist in AI-based detection and electronic-warfare drone defeat solutions for terrestrial, maritime, and airborne platforms.

Fortem TechnologiesLindon, Utah, USA · Private

Counter-UAS platform combining radar detection (TrueView) and autonomous interceptor drones (DroneHunter). Lockheed Martin strategic investor; sole-source US Army counter-drone supplier.

Hidden LevelSyracuse, New York, USA · Private

Tactical passive radar for counter-UAS. Sensor network architecture provides drone detection without active emissions, with $120M+ raised across three rounds since 2021.

D-Fend SolutionsRa’anana, Israel · Subsidiary (parent NYSE: MSI)

Israeli counter-drone specialist. EnforceAir uses RF cyber-takeover techniques to safely neutralise rogue drones without collateral damage or collateral disruption to legitimate airspace.

DedroneWashington DC metropolitan area, USA · Subsidiary (parent NASDAQ: AXON)

AI-based airspace security platform. Acquired by Axon Enterprise (Taser maker) in October 2024. Now the counter-drone arm of one of the largest public-safety technology companies in the US.

Intelligence Product

The Counter-UAS Contract & Procurement Tracker

76 sourced counter-UAS awards across six theatres, the capital and acquisition ledger, and a 45-vendor competitive matrix with US-procurability on every line. Compiled and reconciled, not scraped. Instant PDF.

View the tracker · £249