Counter-UAS from the EU: Droneshield starts production at a European partner

Droneshield Limited plans to build production capacity in the European Union for systems that counter unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), known as counter-UAS, the Australian specialist has announced. The company is thus significantly expanding its industrial presence in Europe while increasing its global manufacturing capacity.

The background is rising defence investment in Europe. Many countries are currently increasing their spending as part of the EU initiative ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030 – and demand for scalable, sovereign capabilities to defend against drones is growing accordingly.

European manufacturing partner has started work

Together with an established European contract manufacturer with which Droneshield has newly partnered, production of European-made counter-drone systems is already under way. The first systems are to be delivered in mid-2026.

According to Droneshield, the partner covers manufacturing completely on a turnkey basis, including the following services:

• Printed circuit board assembly (PCB assembly)
• Precision mechanics and CNC machining
• Manufacture of cables and cable harnesses
• Final assembly and testing of the systems

At the same time, a supply chain is emerging that is largely located in the EU. The new line is currently the company's only production site outside Australia.

Counter-UAS for European procurement programmes

With production in the EU, Droneshield wants to position itself better for European procurement programmes, where sovereign capabilities, regional manufacturing and resilient supply chains increasingly count. Shorter delivery times and faster provision of larger quantities are further goals of local production.

Europe is currently undergoing a profound change in how it prepares for threats from unmanned systems— DroneShield CEO Oleg Vornik

By establishing our own production in the EU, we are contributing to building sovereign European capabilities while being able to supply our European customers faster and more reliably.— Oleg Vornik

Production output to multiply

The new manufacturing in Europe is part of a global capacity expansion at Droneshield. Annual production output amounted to around 430 million euros in 2025; by the end of 2026 it is to grow to about 2.1 billion euros.

The company is thus responding to the growing global demand for counter-drone systems. Armed forces, security authorities and operators of critical infrastructure in particular are currently massively stepping up their capabilities against unmanned systems.