Drones as a Service (DaaS) Delivering Future-Ready Drone Operations for Today’s Military and Defense Services
MarketNewsUpdates News Commentary
NEW YORK, Dec. 18, 2025 — Drone as a Service (DaaS) is now applied and provides on-demand aerial data and imagery for industries such as agriculture, construction/real estate, energy/utilities, and military and defense operations. The DaaS market is experiencing rapid growth: estimates place the global market at roughly $33.55 billion in 2025, projected to exceed $550 billion by 2034, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the mid-30s. Key drivers include expanding applications in agriculture and infrastructure inspection, regulatory changes enabling Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations, and advances in data analytics, with North America leading adoption.
According to a recent Mordor Intelligence report: “The North America drone services market size was USD 12.55 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 31.13 billion by 2030, growing at a 19.92% CAGR. The growth trajectory is underpinned by fast-moving Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rulemaking on beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations, expanding 5G connectivity, and rising enterprise demand for low-carbon data capture. A shift from hardware sales toward service-centric business models is encouraging specialized operators in analytics, training, and maintenance. The North American drone services market, for platform services, led with a 57.20% revenue share in 2024, reflecting the central role of piloting, data capture, and processing packages. Enterprises relied on turnkey flight teams and cloud analytics to streamline adoption, sustaining fee-based recurring revenue across energy, construction, and agriculture verticals. Hardware commoditization led providers to focus on value-added insights, and bundled service contracts contributed to expanding average deal sizes in 2025.”
Active companies in the drone industry this week include ZenaTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZENA), Ondas Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ONDS), AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. (NYSE: UAVS / dba EagleNXT), AIRO Group Holdings (NASDAQ: AIRO), and Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR).
ZenaTech Announces Baton Rouge R&D Center (Q1 2026)
ZenaTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZENA) has provided an update on the planned opening of its Zena AI division Research & Development center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, scheduled for the first quarter of 2026. The Zena AI R&D center will support U.S. federal and defense-focused initiatives through development of secure, defense-oriented artificial intelligence systems enhanced by quantum computing research. The facility will concentrate on mission-critical research areas including AI-driven decision-support systems, autonomous and semi-autonomous intelligence architectures, advanced sensor and data fusion, secure edge intelligence, and quantum-enhanced optimization and modeling.
“Launching a Q1 2026 opening reflects the progress we are making toward building a dedicated, U.S.-based research hub aligned with national defense priorities while strengthening our capacity and skillsets needed for accelerated development of future-ready ZenaDrone solutions,” said Shaun Passley, Ph.D., CEO of ZenaTech. “The center is designed to support defense, intelligence, and federal agencies with high-assurance AI and emerging quantum-enabled capabilities developed within the United States.”
The Baton Rouge facility will bring together a multidisciplinary team of AI software engineers, data scientists, systems engineers, and drone technology specialists, supporting growth of Louisiana’s technology workforce through high-skilled roles, enhanced university partnerships, and deeper collaboration with defense organizations. Research will support a broad range of defense and homeland security applications, including autonomous navigation, multi-drone and fleet coordination, real-time decision-support models, and intuitive control interfaces such as app- or voice-directed operational commands.
The center will also contribute to development of the “Eagle Eye” initiative, integrating AI drones, historical and real-time data, and quantum computing to deliver predictive insights, accelerated decision-making, and optimized battlefield performance. These efforts align with the White House’s AI Action Plan and related executive priorities issued in 2025. Read more on ZenaTech’s newsroom: https://www.zenatech.com/newsroom/
Other Industry Developments
AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. (EagleNXT) provided a 2025 recap highlighting defense adoption, commercial innovation, global service expansion, and capital structure enhancements to support scaling. CEO Bill Irby noted momentum in mission-ready, NDAA-compliant unmanned systems and deeper alignment with U.S. and allied military customers.
AIRO Group Holdings announced successful completion of the first RQ‑35 Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) drones produced to full operational standard in its U.S. manufacturing facility in Phoenix, Arizona — the first U.S.-manufactured RQ‑35 systems and a step in its Made‑in‑America strategy.
Archer Aviation revealed plans for a new UK engineering hub in South West England to support regional aerospace and defense activities. The company will collaborate with partners — including GKN Aerospace and other defense contractors — on engineering and production related to eVTOL and hybrid propulsion technologies.
Ondas Holdings Inc. (OAS) announced that Ondas Autonomous Systems (OAS) is negotiating with Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG to advance joint engineering, manufacturing, and deployment efforts across Europe, with a focus on counter-UAV (C-UAV) and ISR systems.
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