The new site features a dedicated floor for R&D, engineering, and manufacturing to fulfil orders from government, defence, and commercial customers in 70 countries.

The 2000 square metre facility is also positioned to scale DroneShield’s engineering and operations team with 40 employees to be added in the short term as the company develops in-house artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) engines and capabilities for enhanced detection and identification of and response to drone threats.

Funded by DroneShield’s recent $115 million capital raise ($30 million of which is subject to shareholder approval), which positions DroneShield—with around $700 million current market capitalisation—the new headquarters expedites the build-up of inventory to support strong demand from high-quality customer opportunities.

This includes a pipeline of over $500 million with more than 90 qualified projects at different stages and $27 million in orders currently being fulfilled.

“The threats that drones can pose are finally being taken seriously,” said DroneShield CEO Oleg Vornik.

“Whether it’s due to the turmoil they can cause on the battlefield, or the countless ways they can disrupt everyday life—at airports, prisons and public events, for example—drone deterrence is now a priority for government agencies and authorities, in Australia and abroad.”

“We are seeing a major push for comprehensive counter-drone and counter-UAS capabilities—predominately from the US, but broadly across Five Eyes and allies, and slowly but surely in Australia. However, our equipment is sophisticated, AI-based technology that can take up to four months to build, containing up to 200 components that must be manufactured, assembled and quality controlled.”

“Supply chain and inventory certainty is critical, and we are leveraging funds from the $115 million capital raise to enable us to create upwards of $400 million in equipment per year – all within Australia, at the new facility, as a truly sovereign defence supplier – for global customers that expect high-performance equipment to be available right away.”

In addition to its global headquarters in Australia, DroneShield operates an office in Warrenton, Virginia, as its US headquarters.