Companies across construction, energy, agriculture, logistics, and defense are driving record demand for outsourced drone operations
New York, NY – July 16, 2026 – Market News Updates News Commentary – An increasing number of businesses are choosing to utilize Drones-as-a-Service (DaaS) due to its cost-effectiveness. Instead of making large investments in buying drones, hiring pilots, maintaining equipment, and dealing with regulations, companies can opt for a drone service provider as required. This method provides a faster and more cost-efficient way to use advanced drone technology without long-term commitments. DaaS is proving to be advantageous in various industries like construction, power infrastructure, agriculture, pipelines, and disaster management by allowing organizations to collect high-quality data, speed up project completion, and lower costs simultaneously. Companies on the move in the AUV/Drone industries include ZenaTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZENA), Draganfly Inc. (NASDAQ: DPRO), Quantum Cyber N.V. (NASDAQ: QUCY), Unusual Machines, Inc. (NYSE American: UMAC) and Ondas Inc. (NASDAQ: ONDS).
This shift is opening up a significant market opportunity. Estimates indicate that the global Drones-as-a-Service market, valued at around $39 billion in 2026, could surpass $115 billion by 2032. Some specialists believe this figure could rise above $300 billion in the next ten years by incorporating autonomous drones, artificial intelligence, and cloud-based solutions into regular business operations. The growing demand is also boosted by substantial investments in areas such as infrastructure, renewable energy, public safety, and defense, all of which rely on drones for precise, real-time data collection.
Furthermore, technological advancements are keeping up with the increasing demand. Modern drones can inspect various structures like bridges, power lines, cell towers, solar installations, railways, and construction sites in a fraction of the time taken by ground teams. With the help of artificial intelligence, these drones can automatically analyze numerous images, detect potential issues, create detailed maps, and provide reports within minutes. As businesses continue to search for safer, faster, and more efficient operational methods, Drones-as-a-Service emerges as a reasonable choice and stands out as a rapidly expanding sector within the global drone industry.
ZenaTech (NASDAQ: ZENA) Closes 25th Acquisition with Alberta, Canada-based Velocity Geomatics Inc. Expanding Drone as a Service into Environmental and Regulatory Services in the Oil and Gas Sector – Drone as a Service enters into a global oil and gas drone inspection services market growing at 28% per year as Company achieves stated interim goal from January 2025 – ZenaTech, Inc. ($ZENA) (FSE: 49Q) (BMV: ZENA) (“ZenaTech”), a technology solution provider specializing in AI (Artificial Intelligence) drone, Drone as a Service (DaaS), enterprise SaaS, and Quantum Computing solutions, announces that it has completed the acquisition of Grand Prairie Alberta-based Velocity Geomatics Inc. doing business as Velocity Group, with operations and offices across Alberta, British Colombia and Saskatchewan. The acquisition marks ZenaTech’s first acquisition in drone-based geomatics for environmental and regulatory compliance and services in the oil and gas industry, establishing a Drone as a Service presence in a sector growing at over 28% annually. It also marks its 25th acquisition since its January 2025 statement citing it would achieve that number by mid-2026.
“This acquisition expands our Drone as a Service business into Canada’s oil and gas sector focused on environmental and regulatory assessments for oil extraction and pipelines, in one of the most significant energy markets in North America. Importantly, it also demonstrates the achievement of one of our stated goals since our public offering in 2024, which was 25 acquisitions to support our Drone as a Service business. We have maintained an assertive acquisition strategy and anticipate setting new benchmarks in the near term,” said Shaun Passley, Ph.D., CEO of ZenaTech. “Velocity Group brings an established customer base, strong regional expertise, and extensive experience supporting drone-based surveying and geomatics projects including for some large and multinational oil and gas producers. We believe there is a significant opportunity to further enhance these services through AI-powered drone technology for surveying, mapping, inspections, and infrastructure monitoring applications, enabling us to establish a core expertise that we can bring to this fast-growing global industry.”
Velocity Group provides geospatial land surveying, geomatics, mapping, and environmental and regulatory compliance services for Western Canadian oil and gas producers. Operating from three regional offices and a head office in Grande Prairie, Alberta, the company supports projects throughout Alberta as well as British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Its services include surveying, mapping, and pre-site assessment support for commercial infrastructure and energy development projects. The company supports a portfolio of commercial clients in the oil and gas sector, including leading energy operators and established natural gas producers active across upstream and infrastructure development projects in Western Canada.
Drones are already deeply integrated into their operations, with approximately 80% of current projects utilizing drone-based workflows as part of surveying and geospatial data collection.
This transaction comes at a time when the global oil and gas drone inspection services market is valued at approximately USD 2.3 billion and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 28.5%, according to market analysts, driven by increasing adoption of autonomous inspection, surveying, and compliance technologies across energy infrastructure.
ZenaTech’s Drone as a Service platform provides business and government clients with on-demand or subscription-based access to faster and superior drone-based services for a host of surveying, inspection, maintenance, power washing, inventory management, and precision agriculture services, without the capital costs or operational burdens of ownership. By acquiring established, profitable service companies currently using low-tech processes and ripe for drone innovation, ZenaTech is building a global, multi-service DaaS network of locations in communities anchored by existing customers and revenue, for next-gen drone integration designed for speed, precision, data, and safety benefits. The company is continuing to build its global business and network of locations as well as its integration of drones and new services. Continued… Read this full release and additional news for ZENA by visiting: https://www.zenatech.com/newsroom/
Why investors are watching the Drones-as-a-Service market
- Global DaaS market projected to exceed $115 billion by 2032
- Longer-term forecasts suggest the industry could surpass $300 billion during the next decade
- Eliminates large upfront capital costs for customers
- AI-powered inspections dramatically reduce labor costs and project timelines
- Growing adoption across construction, utilities, mining, agriculture, logistics, energy, telecommunications, insurance, and defense
- 2026 estimated global market: Approximately $39 billion
- 2032 projected market: More than $115 billion
- Long-term opportunity: Some forecasts project $300+ billion by the mid-2030s
In other industry recent and current news of note:
Draganfly Inc. (NASDAQ: DPRO), an award-winning Unmanned Systems Developer and capabilities integrator, recently announced with the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) the launch of the IACLEA national Campus Drone Implementation & Readiness Program for colleges and universities across the United States.
The initiative is designed to enable campus public safety departments to stand up compliant, trusted drone programs that improve response to critical incidents, enhance everyday situational awareness, and build community trust, while aligning with recent U.S. federal actions to grow the domestic drone industrial base and encourage the use of secure, domestically manufactured UAS platforms.
Against this backdrop, the Draganfly IACLEA program provides higher education with a clear, turnkey path to align campus drone and counter-drone operations with emerging security capabilities and threats while staying in lockstep with evolving federal and state requirements.
Quantum Cyber N.V. (Nasdaq: QUCY) recently announced the filing of a provisional patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) covering a modular drone launch system (the “Launch System”) engineered to deploy autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles rapidly and at scale across defense, border security, and autonomous warfare applications. The application was filed through the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Quantum Drones Corporation.
A Structural Shift in U.S. Defense Procurement, and Where the Launch System Fits – U.S. defense procurement is undergoing a shift toward low-cost, autonomous systems deployed at scale, and the ability to field those systems rapidly is emerging as a defining operational requirement. Executive Order 14307 establishes American drone dominance as an explicit industrial and national-security priority, directing the acceleration of domestic drone production, expanded exports of U.S.-made systems, and the enablement of more advanced autonomous operations. The Department of Defense FY2027 Budget Request includes approximately $55 billion allocated to drone and autonomous warfare programs, and the counter-UAS market is projected to grow from $3.1 billion to $10.6 billion by 2030, a 27.2% compound annual growth rate (Grand View Research, 2025).
Unusual Machines, Inc. (NYSE American:UMAC), a leading manufacturer of NDAA-compliant drone components, recently announced the promotion of Tyler Crane to Vice President of Product.
In his new role, Crane will lead product strategy across the Company’s growing lineup of drone components, working closely with engineering, manufacturing, commercial teams, and customers to develop high-performance products that meet evolving customer requirements across our markets.
Crane has played a central role in shaping the Company’s product roadmap and expanding its portfolio, helping bring the Aura camera line, Aura VTX, Brave F7 flight controller, Brave 55A electronic speed controller, motors, and other critical drone components to market. His experience leading products from concept through commercialization, while working directly alongside customers, pilots, engineers, and manufacturing teams, gives him a rare operational perspective that keeps customer requirements at the center of every product decision.
Ondas Inc. (Nasdaq: ONDS), a leading provider of advanced autonomous systems and next-generation defense and security technologies and services, announced recently it has acquired DZYNE Technologies, LLC (“DZYNE”). This acquisition establishes Ondas as a vanguard autonomous defense platform, uniting complementary capabilities across multi-domain ISR, counter-UAS, autonomous effects, aerial security, precision strike, autonomous logistics, and AI-enabled mission orchestration to rapidly meet the complex, evolving requirements of modern warfare. The acquisition is valued at $875.8 million and was financed through a cash and stock structure intended to align the incentives of DZYNE management and investors with Ondas’ stockholders. Greater than 50% of the stock consideration is subject to a six-month lock-up.
“The character of warfare is changing rapidly, and military advantage increasingly belongs to organizations capable of deploying autonomous systems at scale,” said Eric Brock, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ondas. “DZYNE brings exceptional technology, world-class engineering talent and mission-ready systems across long-endurance ISR, counter-UAS and autonomous effects. The combination with DZYNE accelerates Ondas’ build-out of the next-generation autonomous defense platform—not through a single breakthrough product, but by integrating complementary, mission-proven technologies into a scaled operating platform. Importantly, DZYNE significantly strengthens Ondas’ financial profile, adding substantial scale and revenue growth. DZYNE is EBITDA positive with a strong and growing margin profile, accelerating Ondas’ path towards profitable, long-term growth.”
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