Let’s talk Draganfly.
1998-founded Draganfly, Inc. has a legacy of spearheading IoT advancements in today’s professional drone industry. In 1999 and 2001, respectively, the Draganfly team released the first commercialized quadrotor UAV and the first multirotor UAV with an integrated camera system. Fast-forward to 2013, and its Draganflyer X6 (reviewed as an impressive “remote-controlled miniature helicopter,” essentially) was featured in a key U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “The Future of Drones in America: Law Enforcement and Privacy Considerations,” which laid groundwork for police drone usage and policy. From there, its small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) technology was credited in 2013 as the world’s first sUAS to save a person’s life. (The Draganflyer X4-ES, to be specific.)
In 2023, Draganfly drones are featured in numerous museums, including the National Law Enforcement Museum in Washington, D.C., as well as the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, and the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. Draganfly has clearly laid bare its passion for UAV engineering; the combined expertise its team members have in aviation, robotics and model flying have led to their success in how industrial drones are built and how, per Draganfly, “they can change the world with equal parts artisan craftmanship and technical prowess.”
Quite the resume, we’d say.
Last week, Draganfly backed up its expansive ambitions with the announcement that it is – you guessed it – expanding its manufacturing capacity with a new facility.
Located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the new Draganfly facility will be able to “meet a growing market demand with expanded manufacturing and production capabilities,” when it comes to UAV systems and components. These capabilities include (but aren’t limited to) core manufacturing, assembly and quality control processes, as well as built-in design, testing and smarter UAV inventory management solutions. (e.g. prototyping enterprise-grade UAV sensors, controllers, software and AI, etc.)
“The recent launch of our Burnaby facility and the operational commencement of our Texas AIR operations center has allowed us to now initiate the construction of our new facility and commence the scaling process,” said Cameron Chell, CEO of Draganfly. “It is a thrilling time; as our industry expands, so do we. Draganfly is strategically positioning itself to meet this growth, and our upcoming Saskatoon facility will help us uphold our passionate dedicated to developing world-class technologies.”
With this new facility on the horizon, Draganfly will be able to provide its UAV solutions to sectors in agriculture, to environmental and energy entities, for many military and government contractors in order to improve personnel and infrastructure safety, and for protective public health measures.