3 Takeaways for the Drone Industry - Paris Air Show 2025

Plus The Headlines, Money Matters, and Recommended Reading (Week 25 2025: 16 - 22 Jun)

Jun 23, 2025

Welcome to this week’s Beyond Line of Sight!

Last week was the Paris Air Show.

With each passing year, the number of drone OEMs and drone component manufacturers have been increasing. The Paris Air Show was no different.

Here are 3 takeaways related to the drone industry from the Paris Air Show.

#1 More Autonomy, More AI

This is obvious. From spreadsheets to cars, everything is now AI-enabled, and companies that don’t leverage AI are not innovating. While that may be an exaggeration, it’s not far from the truth. More and more companies are marketing AI-enabled autonomy and swarm capabilities to AI-led engineering, manufacturing, and everything in between. Some of it is hot air, but a lot of it are starting to become genuine use cases with potentially game-changing results.

#2 More Internal Combustion

Drones have become an essential part of militaries and government agencies. When the general public think of drones, they think of a battery-powered multi-rotor (usually a quad-rotor) drone like a DJI. Some with some knowledge know of MQ-9s and the like. With proliferation of drones, there is a huge range and sizes of drones available, from quad-rotors to fighter-jet size drones. All of this means there is a persistent (and growing) need for turbofan, turboprop, and piston engines specific for drones. More suppliers are being seen marketing small internal combustion (IC) propulsion systems specifically developed for drones.

#3 More Composite Materials

As drones become more larger, faster, and more complex, the materials needs significantly change. As larger drones (class 2 and larger) proliferate, mass savings become paramount. 1 kg of mass saved in the airframe (or elsewhere) can be used for payload. Composites and advanced materials are now starting to play a larger role as drone systems become larger and faster. Several composite materials manufacturers are starting to play an important role in the sector.

Some pictures from the show:

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Defence and Security

Ukraine has secured $43 billion this year to supercharge its domestic defence industry, and is rapidly developing domestic interceptor drones to shoot down Russian Shahed kamikaze swarms.

Airbus has completed assembly of its first SIRTAP tactical drone prototype in Getafe, Spain, and it’s now entering ground tests. A maiden flight expected by the end of 2025.

Airbus spinoff Aalto will fly its solar-powered Zephyr “pseudo-satellite” over the Mediterranean this summer to help France monitor and operate in the stratosphere as a new military domain.

AeroVironment’s ship-deployable JUMP 20 VTOL drone spent six months operating with the U.S. Navy’s 4th Fleet during Operation Southern Spear—providing fully autonomous, hands-free maritime surveillance.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems is developing a new export‑compliant small UAS—dubbed “PELE” debuted at the 2025 Paris Air Show.

Invariant Corporation successfully conducted a live-fire, ship‑mounted demonstration of its STAKE surface-to-air system to intercept unmanned aerial targets from a moving naval vessel.

Bluelight

Louisiana has become the first U.S. state to empower local police—under the new “We Will Act” law—to intercept and disable drones posing credible threats near schools, events, or critical infrastructure using both kinetic and non-kinetic tools.

Commercial

Delair has launched the DT61—a heavy-lift, VTOL-capable fixed-wing drone with over seven hours of endurance, 100 km communication range, and a 15 kg payload.

Partnerships

France’s Ministry of Armed Forces and Airbus Helicopters (with Naval Group) have signed a framework agreement to equip French Navy frigates with the VSR700 UAS.

General Atomics is partnering with Saab to outfit its MQ‑9B drone family—including SkyGuardian, SeaGuardian, Protector, and a carrier-capable STOL variant—with Saab’s podded airborne early warning sensors.

Anduril Industries and Rheinmetall have teamed up to produce European versions of Anduril’s autonomous drones—Barracuda and Fury—and explore joint production of solid rocket motors.

Thales and Boreal have joined forces to develop a new long‑range loitering munition.

Quantum Systems and Airbus Defence & Space have teamed up (along with AI startup Spleenlab) under Germany’s KITU 2 research program to develop and trial AI-driven swarms of tactical eVTOL drones.

DroneSense and Parrot have partnered to deliver an ultra-secure, NDAA‑compliant “Blue UAS” drone solution.

Apian has partnered with Matternet to expand the NHS’s London-area drone delivery network.

Thales has partnered with Skydweller Aero to build a solar‑powered, Boeing 747‑size drone equipped with Thales’ AI‑powered AirMaster S radar capable of flying continuously for weeks or months.

Money Matters

Contracts

American Robotics: received a purchase order from a major U.S. urban public safety agency for its Kestrel counter‑UAS system (amount undisclosed).

Investment and M&A

Red Cat Holdings has raised $46.75 million through a direct stock offering to fund its newly launched maritime drone (Unmanned Surface Vessel) division.

AERIUM Analytics has acquired all assets of The Drone Bird Company (Clear Flight Solutions B.V.) to better serve aviation, agriculture, energy, and wildlife management sectors.

BEYOND LINE OF SIGHT

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