Drone startups: Lithuania's PDKinematics closes two-million-euro seed round

PDKinematics has raised two million euros in seed capital, the Lithuanian defence technology company announced – another example of drone startups attracting investors. The round was led by Coinvest Capital, Lithuania's state investment fund, and Iron Wolf Capital, one of the most active defence investors in Europe.

The company intends to use the capital to expand its production. At the same time, its precision guidance systems for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are to be used more widely across Europe and in Ukraine.

The funding round also included defence-focused angel investors as well as experienced founders from technology and high-growth sectors.

As a manufacturer of precision guidance systems, PDKinematics aims to develop, deliver and scale at the speed and cost that are required today. Its offering ranges from end products to core technologies for precision guidance and strike systems. Target groups are UAV manufacturers, defence integrators and European armed forces.

Drone startups and their partners: Bavovna.ai and SiraLab

Rapolas Markevičius, CEO and co-founder of PDKinematics, described the starting point as follows:

We started working on precision guidance systems for UAVs because the battlefield demanded something that did not yet exist: precision at altitude – at the cost and in the form of mass-produced drone munitions. The most advanced guidance technology in history was developed for large aircraft and expensive programmes that only superpowers could afford— Rapolas Markevičius, CEO and co-founder of PDKinematics

We are redesigning it for the platforms that actually dominate today's battlefield, applying modern research and development to these proven guidance principles and integrating them into manufacturable, deployable systems for modern UAV warfare.— Rapolas Markevičius

Even before the seed round, a good deal had been set in motion operationally. PDKinematics agreed a strategic partnership with Bavovna.ai, one of the largest manufacturers of bomber UAVs in Ukraine, whose platforms now use the guidance systems under real operational conditions. Beyond Ukraine, Italian UAV manufacturer SiraLab is a partner – one element of the strategy with which PDKinematics intends to open up the European market. The systems were also selected for "Iron Wolf 2026", Lithuania's largest international military exercise. This is regarded as confirmation that they perform in an operational environment to NATO standards.

Gannet and further components

The flagship product is Gannet, a guidance system for UAVs with low SWaP-C values (size, weight, power, cost). It maintains accuracy even at flight altitudes of up to 700 metres. For comparison: in Ukraine alone, around 300,000 munitions are dropped from drones every month, almost all of them unguided.

In addition, Gannet is resistant to jamming, platform-independent and also works in difficult weather. Integration into a wide range of UAV types is to take less than four weeks, counted from first contact to first flight.

For Viktorija Trimbel – Managing Director of Coinvest Capital, co-founder and board member of the Defence Angels European Network – the technology is central:

Precision guidance is becoming a fundamental capability of modern drone warfare, and PDKinematics is developing it at the cost and speed the market demands. Together with the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union, we invited the team to 'The Flaming Shield' to stress-test the solution and obtain direct feedback from military end users. That was when we began drafting the agreement.— Viktorija Trimbel, Coinvest Capital

Alongside Gannet, a portfolio of in-house components is being developed that UAV manufacturers can build into their products: a proximity fuze against armoured targets, intended for loitering munitions and interceptor missiles, as well as several components against electronic warfare. In the long term, PDKinematics aims to become the leading supplier of precision guidance technology for UAV manufacturers in the NATO environment, bringing technology proven in Ukraine into European defence supply chains. A maritime application is also already planned, with the navy of a NATO member state; it would be the first maritime use.

In total, the company has raised three million euros with the current seed round. The team intends to use the funds to gain a broader foothold in Europe and to advance its research and development pipeline. By the end of 2026, the proximity fuze and the counter-electronic-warfare solutions are to reach MVP (minimum viable product) maturity.