Two Drone Markets, Two Clocks: Defence Is Buying Now, Civilian Delivery Expands With Washington Undecided

Red Cat agreed on 28 November 2022 to sell its consumer division, Rotor Riot and Fat Shark, to Unusual Machines for $18 million in cash and securities, after a review of its military and enterprise opportunities. Chief executive Jeff Thompson said the sale "will allow us to focus our efforts and capital on military and defense". Unusual Machines announced the closing of its acquisitions of Fat Shark and Rotor Riot on 22 February 2024, per an SEC exhibit.

Skydio announced on 10 August 2023 that it was leaving the consumer market and would stop selling its Skydio 2+ consumer kits, to focus on enterprise and public-sector customers, of which it said it had more than 1,500, per Inside Unmanned Systems.

Wing's 5 October release says the Walmart partnership has brought drone delivery access to more than three million customers across metros including Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, Houston and Orlando, that Denver and Seattle follow in 2027, and that the plan covers more than 270 Walmart locations coast to coast, in nearly 20 major US metros. Grocery Dive reports drone delivery currently operating in five US markets for the partnership.

Two federal steps sit under that plan. Part 108, the beyond-visual-line-of-sight rule that the FAA has said will move it away from one-off approvals (DroneLife, 2 September), was received for White House review on 10 July and was still pending on 14 October, per reginfo.gov. And the FAA's final Programmatic Environmental Assessment for Part 135 package delivery, with its Finding of No Significant Impact and Record of Decision, was announced in the Federal Register on 30 July. The 15 states and Harris County argue it did not take the required "hard look" at a broader rollout, per California's Attorney General. If the court sets the finding aside, the FAA would return to market-by-market reviews, which, DroneXL reports, take six to eight months each.

Fortem closed a $50 million Series B on 30 September, led by Lockheed Martin, to expand manufacturing in Lindon, Utah, per DroneLife. Its customers and contracts include a US Army contract to protect installations, a place as one of the prime contractors on a five-year DHS counter-drone vehicle with a $1.011 billion ceiling for the whole vehicle (not an award to Fortem), and an order to help protect venues during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Unusual Machines describes itself as a provider of high-performance drone components. On 15 October 2025 it announced an order for 3,500 NDAA-compliant motors from the Army's 101st Airborne Division, made at its new US facility, per the company's release. It also participated in Fortem's round, per DroneLife. From 13 October, under the FCC's Third Report and Order, the FCC prohibits authorisation of new devices that incorporate logic-bearing hardware components produced by a Covered List entity, where the device would itself be prohibited had that entity produced the whole device (Federal Register, effective 13 October 2026).