DroneShield Bags $40M Counter-Drone Deal With European Military
Sydney-based DroneShield has landed three contracts to supply handheld detection and counter-drone systems, as well as their related accessories, to a European military customer via a local reseller.
Totaling 61.6 million Australian dollars ($40 million), the undisclosed number of systems are scheduled for delivery throughout the third quarter of this year.
This marks the company’s largest single order in history, surpassing its entire 2024 revenue of 57.7 million Australian dollars ($37.7million) and follows a 32.2-million Australian dollar ($21 million) order by another customer in April, according to DroneShield.
“The scale and frequency of orders (have) been increasing as leading Military customers are moving from testing hardware to broader rollouts,” company CEO Oleg Vornik said in a statement.
To meet the surge in demand, the Australian company is establishing its first European manufacturing and assembly facility, marking its first venture outside the country.
DroneShield’s European Centre of Excellence will support manufacturing and assembly, research and development, drone testing, and training, enabling at least 65 percent European content for certain solutions.
ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030
DroneShield’s milestone European contract also supports the 800-billion-euro ($1.4 trillion) ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030 initiative unveiled in March.
Its key measures include boosting the EU’s defense spending through fiscal flexibility and loans, strengthening industrial and procurement autonomy, and providing support for Ukraine amid its war with Russia.
Vornik noted how setting up “a robust European supply chain to support equipment sold in the region will strengthen sovereign capability,” and how its “Australian software development team continues to deliver critical updates addressing emerging threats, both in Ukraine and globally.”
“Our expanded team in Europe, combined with growing manufacturing output in Australia, ensures DroneShield is well positioned to meet the rising demand from both existing and new defence partners,” he added.
