One weak link can bring down an entire supply chain-particularly on the production side of defense technology. Orqa’s latest move aims to eliminate that vulnerability altogether. The European leader in FPV and unmanned aerial systems has launched its Global Manufacturing Partnership Program, a sweeping initiative designed to scale production to more than one million drones annually through a network of trusted partners across multiple continents.
From its headquarters in Osijek, Croatia, Orqa is already manufacturing up to 280,000 NDAA-compliant drones per year, using only proprietary components designed and manufactured in the EU. This vertical integration eliminates reliance on Chinese suppliers and represents a strategic alignment with growing demand for secure, defense-grade UAVs across Western markets. “This milestone reinforces our conviction that Europe can build a secure and independent industrial capacity for defence technology,” said Srdjan Kovacevic, CEO of Orqa. “We’ve proven that high-performance drone production can be scaled outside of China, supporting the creation of resilient and trusted global supply chains.”
The new program extends this proven production model far beyond Europe. Partnerships operating today span across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific, with further agreements in negotiation. Each facility will manufacture drones using Orqa’s standardized components to produce consistent performance, with each partner being able to adapt that to the specific local regulatory and logistical realities. “Our Global Manufacturing Partnership Program extends this capability by enabling allied markets to produce the same high-performance systems using Orqa’s standardized components. The agreements we’ve already secured put us on track to achieve our target capacity of one million drones per year, a significant milestone at a time when global security challenges are evolving rapidly.”
This is not just a matter of numbers; this is resilience. Spreading production across multiple regions lessens the possibility of business disruption due to geopolitical tensions, trade limitations, or localized supply chain failure. The model follows similar strategies in other aerospace sectors where localized manufacturing enables rapid scaling while preserving the quality control. Every partner benefits from Orqa’s engineering expertise, precision assembly processes, and standards compliant with defense, while contributing to reindustrialization and creating high-value manufacturing jobs in their respective markets.
Global demand for unmanned aerial systems is surging, driven by both defense and enterprise applications. In the defense sector, the need for trusted, non-Chinese hardware has become urgent, with armed forces increasingly focused on cybersecurity, reliability, and the assured availability of spare parts. Orqa’s fully vertically integrated structure-directly responsible for design, engineering, and manufacturing-addresses these priorities precisely. The company’s track record includes delivering 100,000 products in 2024 to customers in more than 50 countries, underscoring its ability to meet diverse operational requirements at scale.
The strategy also follows the broader industry trend towards dual-use UAV platforms and diversified production bases. Recent ventures in this direction, like U.S.-based manufacturing collaborations of international drone makers with local factories, illustrate how marquee UAV technological capabilities can be married with industrialized local manufacturing processes. These partnerships not only respond to market demand but also navigate complex regulatory environments more effectively. Integrate standardized components with localized manufacturing to provide the shortest lead times and lower the complexity of logistics, and regulatory barriers. This would further scale global engineering excellence with regional agility to respond quickly to shifting operational needs, whether for defense missions or commercial deployments. The result is a production ecosystem that is both scalable and secure, designed to deliver high-performance drones in unprecedented volumes without sacrificing quality or reliability.