2025 is shaped as “drone year”. According to the data from the Kiev Independent of the online newspaper, Russia launched more than 1,300 drone strikes (and 250 missiles) in 2024 in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. This may seem like a lot, but Russia on the evening of July 9, 2025 700 Attack and trap drones in Ukraine on one night.
Ukraine responded to its ongoing bombardment in a famous way with its own drone mission – a few hundred drones kidnapped to Russia and destroyed by remote pilots who were controlled by the country’s own mobile phone networks, transferred to Russia’s strategic Bomber fleet, transferred to more than three remains.
The drone also played a role in the last Israeli-Iran conflict. For example, Israel’s surprise attack on Iran on June 13 included drones from Iran to remove the air defense systems prepared for a wider bombing campaign. Iran’s response included the launch of more than 1,000 drones in the attack on Israel.
Washington cannot attract the attention of DC, in fact have to have He caught Washington’s attention. Last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth promised to “support our industrial base, reform purchase and new technology,” with the deadly small drones required by the modern battlefield.
So what does these investors mean?
Image Source: Getty Images.
Hegset proposed to be equipped with every staff in the US Army, until the end of the government’s financial 2026, sometimes with Kamikaze Drons or First Public Opinion (FPV) plane with “small, one -way attack drones” (this 30 September 2026.)
This offers us a solid calendar: we can expect this directive to play for the next 12 to 14 months.
As reported by BreakingDefEne.com, Hegseth’s primary focus is on approximately 55 pounds or small group 1 and group 2 drones. The Pentagon will invite a bid of $ 2,000 from companies that can produce such drones and aim to buy 10,000 small drones next year.
As the Pentagon programs progress, this is quite small potatoes, perhaps implying the first purchases of $ 20 million hardware – but this can only be the beginning. As a colonel of an army described by BreakingDefense.com, the army will use these first drones to help answer questions like how many planes really need to perform their task. And the answer can be “more than 10,000”.
In this case, the size of this drone purchase program may grow significantly.
Knowing this, DRONE TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES like Aviation(Nasdaq: Avav) And Kratos Defense and Technology(Nasdaq: Ktos) It’s sure you’d want to take action. However, the biggest question is whether the army can provide the amount of drones that the army will need at prices that will be willing to pay.
For example, Aerovironment stock increased Approximately 50% since the beginning of June when Drones dominated headlines. The problem is that the company’s highest profile FPV drone model-Switchblade-Eher is reported to cost from $ 50,000 to $ 170,000.
Likewise with Kratos. The stock has increased by more than 55% in the last few weeks. However, Kratos is developing completely different types of drones from the people who Pentagon wants. Designed to accompany the Air Force hunter jets as a “loyal wingman”, the company’s XQ-58A Valkyrie drone is reported to exceed $ 4 million..
Other defense companies may have offers approaching the sign. For example, Palantir(NASDAQ: PLTR)A defense stock and a specialist intelligence type, a specialist, who may be useful to direct drones to their goals, has been reported to have met with Red Cat, a lower cost drone manufacturer. But the Red Cat’s 130 drone still has a price tag of $ 43,000 – cheaper than Aerovironment and Kratos offers, but much more expensive than hegseth’s drones.
According to the company, the specially held defense contractor Anduril is also working to make affordable FPV drones. Again, it is probably very expensive for a drone that is closer to this sign, but still is a daily work that is a spent ammunition.
Long story short, the competition of being the US Army’s cheap, reliable, preferred provider for FPV drones still seems open to me – and there is no way to predict which company will win. At this point, the only thing I can say is that the drones, which are much more expensive than the secretary Hegseth for the uses envisaged by the secretary, Aerovironment and Kratos do not lead this race.
They’re losing.
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Rich smith None of the mentioned stocks have a position. Motley Fool has locations and recommends in Aerovironment and Palantir technologies. Motley Fool’s Explanation policy.
