American Drone Manufacturing Plant Takes Root in Connecticut

Aquiline Drones (AD) meets the increasing demand for "Made in America" drones by opening the first drone manufacturing and assembly plant in Connecticut. The Hartford-based aviation cloud solutions provider and commercial drone manufacturer now produces Drone Volt's Altura Zenith and Hercules 2 drones — re-branded by AD as the Spartacus line of drones: Spartacus Macks and Spartacus Hurricane.

Last year, AD signed exclusive U.S. manufacturing, sales, and distribution licensing agreements with Drone Volt, a French drone manufacturer of professional civilian drones. AD also entered into a strategic partnership agreement with Drone Volt and Aerialtronics through a 10% stock/equity swap with these entities. Under the terms of a five-year deal with Drone Volt, Aquiline Drones becomes the sole manufacturer of the Pensar smart camera — a multispectral sensor, complete with artificial intelligence and edge computing capabilities, along with manufacturing the above-mentioned drones.

"Growing data security concerns over foreign-manufactured technology, mainly from China, has created an immediate need for increased drone production capacity in the United States," said Barry Alexander, Chairman & CEO of Aquiline Drones. "Our goal is to not only position our country as a leader in the multi-billion-dollar global drone industry, but also, to reestablish America's manufacturing dominance.  This is in perfect harmony with our company’s powerful strategic vision of making Connecticut the drone capital of the nation.”

Alexander notes AD now has a team of 25 technicians working in its new 7,000 square foot, state-of-the-art drone manufacturing and assembly lab. This manufacturing team projects to double in the coming weeks to address the rapidly accelerating market demand for American-made drones.  

Igniting the spark to build a new drone manufacturing ecosystem in the U.S. was The American Security Drone Act of 2019/2020. This development paves the way for U.S.-based drone manufacturers — such as Aquiline Drones — to enter a red-hot industry growing at 13.8% annually. According to the FAA, drones represent the fastest-growing segment in the entire transportation sector.

AD’s new venture also comes on the heels of the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ's) announcement on October 9, 2020, officially banning the use of DOJ funds to purchase or operate any drone from “covered foreign” countries. China is estimated to originate more than 70% of the global share of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) drones.

Originally posted on Government Fleet