Ohio-based defense startup Agilis Air has begun pre‑manufacturing low‑cost drones to help close a critical gap in US military supply as demand from the Department of Defense outpaces current production.
It announced it will pre‑build 55 Remoras — compact, modular drones designed for rapid deployment — using grant funding from the YBI ENGINE Tech Incubator, Youngstown Innovation Hub for Aerospace & Defense, and the federally-funded YBI Rising Tides Initiative.
The 3D‑printed airframes and domestically sourced components allow the company to dramatically shorten delivery times, moving systems to operational use from months to days.
Agilis Air said this approach directly addresses a growing challenge as the US military readies for a 2026 drone mandate, which could see demand reach roughly 1,000 units per month and exceed 10,000 annually, far above current supply and cost targets.
Remora is designed to meet the Pentagon’s goals of sub-$2,000 unit cost and rapid production scale, compared with average small drone prices near $7,000 and lead times of up to three months.
The initiative also aims to strengthen US industrial supply chains and expand domestic capability for rapid, low‑cost drone manufacturing.
Startup Defense Procurements
In recent years, the US government has awarded contracts to smaller, innovative firms supplying advanced defense products and prototypes.
In March 2025, the Defense Innovation Unit selected four companies — AeroVironment, Dragoon Technology LLC, Swan, and Auterion — to develop prototypes of long‑range, one‑way unmanned platforms under the Artemis project, aiming to evaluate adaptable systems at scale.
These contracts support prototype development of loitering munitions capable of operating in contested environments with ranges beyond 50 kilometers (31 miles).
Expanding beyond unmanned platforms into autonomy software, the Air Force Research Laboratory awarded Palladyne AI a contract last month to advance swarming and integrated autonomy capabilities using its SwarmOS software platform.
This effort is intended to connect autonomous systems — including aerial, maritime, and space assets — enabling them to share intelligence and act in a coordinated manner across multiple domains.
