Drones - Defense Stocks

Modern directed-energy counter-drone weapon system deployed on a tactical platform at an open military test range

Drones

The Pentagon Is Bringing Counter-Drone Lasers and Microwaves to Domestic Bases

JIATF-401 selected four directed-energy systems for a homeland C-UAS pilot. Lasers and microwaves now head to U.S. bases, with FAA airspace rules and a December Dugway shoot-off still ahead.

Drones

The Army Turned Counter-Drone Buying Into a $4 Billion Catalog

The Army and JIATF-401 awarded 10 firms $4.15 billion in counter-drone IDIQ ceilings, from gun turrets to jammers. Only $50 million is obligated so far, leaving the rest to Congress.

Autonomous medium-altitude surveillance drone flying over coastal waters

Funding

Tekever Raises $580 Million at $6.4 Billion Valuation to Scale Autonomous Drone Fleets

Tekever closed a $580 million Series D at a $6.4 billion valuation, backing AR5 production for the British Army's Project CORVUS and a combat-proven European drone line.

A concept rendering of a tailless autonomous stealth combat drone with a submerged dorsal inlet banking at high altitude.

Companies

Lockheed Is Building Five Stealth Drones to Force Its Way Back Into Fighter Teaming

Skunk Works is building a fleet of five Vectis autonomous stealth drone prototypes with internal capital, testing an 80 percent touch labor reduction to challenge Anduril and General Atomics.

Small tactical unmanned aerial vehicles operating in formation over rugged desert terrain at dusk

Funding

Israeli Defense Startup Aitan Raises $41 Million to Take Combat-Tested Drone Software Global

Israeli-founded Aitan is coming out of stealth with a $41 million round and a blunt argument: attritable drones are commodities, and the sovereign asset is the software that flies them together.

A military long-endurance unmanned drone aircraft with high-aspect wings on a desert airfield runway at sunset.

Drones

Why the Air Force Is Rushing a $10 Million Drone to Replace the $50 Million Reaper

After losing at least 45 MQ-9 Reapers in 2026 combat operations, the Air Force is accelerating its Massed Modular Aircraft program to field low-cost attritable drones within three years.

A tactical defense vehicle equipped with a modular high-energy laser turret in a desert testing environment

Funding

AeroVironment Wins $465 Million to Put High-Energy Lasers Into Serial Production

The U.S. Army awarded AeroVironment a $464.8 million agreement for the Enduring High Energy Laser program, marking the first series-production contract for a laser weapon system in U.S. military history.

Quadcopter drone over a ground radar dish at twilight

Drones

Anduril Won Half of DHS’s $1.5 Billion Drone-Defense Vehicle. It Wants the Other Half.

Anduril won the services track of DHS’s $1.5 billion, five-year counter-UAS vehicle and missed the hardware track. It protested at GAO on August 12. A decision is due November 20.

Drones

Ukraine's Six-Month Window: How the Drone War Turning Point Is Reshaping Defense Spending

Something has shifted on the battlefield in Ukraine. After more than four years of grinding attrition, the Institute for the Study of War assessed in…

Drones

ONDAS Holdings: How a Small-Cap Defense Rollup Just Printed $110 Million in a Single Quarter

Ondas Inc. just announced $110 million in Q2 orders on May 29 - on top of a record Q1 and a guidance raise to $390 million. Here is what the ONDS story means for defense investors watching the autonomous systems space.

Drones

Pentagon Bets on Drone Startups: Inside the $210 Billion Push to Close America's Drone Gap

The Trump administration is negotiating equity stakes in American drone startups. Here is what the Pentagon's $210 billion push to close the U.S. drone manufacturing gap means for investors and the defense sector.