This Unique Drone Market is Creating a $355.5 Billion Investment Opportunity

August 05, 2025 - By: Baystreet Staff


The drone industry is just starting to take off, creating a unique opportunity for ZenaTech (NASDAQ: ZENA), AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV), Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ: DRS), L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) and Red Cat Holdings (NASDAQ: RCAT).

That’s because drones are quickly becoming an essential tool for the U.S. government, and multi-billion-dollar businesses involved in defense, construction, logistics, agriculture, oil and gas, public security and even deliveries.

Look at the drone-as-a-service (DaaS) market, for example.

According to Research and Markets, the industry is expected to be worth about $355.55 billion by 2032. All thanks to strong business demand for enhanced efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Plus, with DaaS there’s no need for upfront costs or operational licensing.

All of which is a solid catalyst for ZenaTech. Plus, it’s what sets the company apart from its competition. Unlike its peers, ZenaTech is unique with its DaaS model for drones.

In fact, ZenaTech’s Drone as a Service (DaaS) business model offers both business and government customers reduced costs and convenience to utilize drones to streamline legacy processes and manual tasks such as inspections, surveying, maintenance, precision agriculture and inventory management ─ there is no need to purchase drone hardware and software, find a drone pilot, manage maintenance and operation, or acquire regulatory approvals.

The model also offers scalability to use more often or less often based on business needs and utilizes ZenaDrone’s multifunction AI autonomous drones.

Expanding its presence, ZenaTech Just Closed its Seventh Drone as a Service (DaaS) Acquisition in North Carolina Expanding its Southeast Region and Government Opportunities

ZenaTech just announced the closing of its seventh Drone as a Service acquisition. Morgan Surveying, a Greensboro, North Carolina-based land surveying firm, offers a full range of land surveying services including boundary and topographic surveys, surveys supporting real estate transactions, construction, land development, utility plans, and subdivision design and zoning. With a strong portfolio of municipal, county, and private sector clients, Morgan Surveying provides a strong fit for ZenaTech’s national DaaS platform.

This now marks the first completed acquisition in North Carolina, expanding the DaaS business presence in the Southeast region along with five recent Florida-based acquisitions. It also enhances the company’s ability to sell to both government and commercial customers.

Accorrding to Shaun Passley, Ph.D., ZenaTech CEO:

“By bringing Morgan Surveying into our DaaS portfolio we are strengthening operations in the Southeast region while accelerating expertise and expansion into government opportunities, particularly at the county, city and state level. We’re integrating AI-powered drones as an important land surveying tool, elevating how land is understood, mapped and managed. This transaction supports our growing national Drone as a Service network as well as our mission to deliver precise, efficient, and scalable drone-powered insights across multiple industries from construction to conservation.”

ZenaTech has now closed seven acquisitions across the US to date as part of its goal of acquiring and establishing 25 Drone as a Service locations nationwide by mid next year.

Other related developments from around the markets include:

AeroVironment, a global leader in intelligent, multi-domain autonomous systems, revealed Skyfall—a potential future mission concept for next-generation Mars Helicopters developed with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to help pave the way for human landing on Mars through autonomous aerial exploration. The concept is heavily focused on rapidly delivering an affordable, technically mature solution for expanded Mars exploration that would be ready for launch by 2028. Skyfall is designed to deploy six scout helicopters on Mars, where they would explore many of the sites selected by NASA and industry as top candidate landing sites for America's first Martian astronauts. While exploring the region, each helicopter can operate independently, beaming high-resolution surface imaging and sub-surface radar data back to Earth for analysis, helping ensure crewed vehicles make safe landings at areas with maximum amounts of water, ice, and other resources. The data Skyfall collects could also advance the nation's quest to discover whether Mars was ever habitable.

Leonardo DRS, a leading provider of advanced defense technologies, today reported financial results for the second quarter 2025, which ended June 30, 2025. “Leonardo DRS delivered another set of strong financial results marked by healthy bookings, solid organic revenue growth and continued profit and margin expansion in the second quarter. The need to deter and contest heightened global threats continues to bolster customer demand for our innovative, high-performance technologies. Amidst a more dynamic macro backdrop, we remain focused on disciplined execution and delivering differentiated capabilities to customers,” said Bill Lynn, Chairman and CEO of Leonardo DRS.

L3Harris Technologies and Joby Aviation announced they are exploring opportunities to develop a new aircraft class for defense applications. The gas turbine hybrid vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is designed for low-altitude missions and offers the versatility of being optionally piloted, enabling both crewed and fully autonomous operations. The collaboration leverages Joby’s existing commercial aircraft development program and leading manufacturing capabilities, combined with L3Harris’ proven expertise in platform missionization including sensors, effectors, communication and collaborative autonomy. Flight testing is expected to start this fall with the companies planning to perform operational demonstrations during government exercises in 2026.

Red Cat Holdings, a drone technology company integrating robotic hardware and software for military, government, and commercial operations, today issued a statement of support for a series of executive orders from the White House that advance U.S. leadership in uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and reinforce the resilience of America’s domestic industrial base. The executive actions are expected to remove regulatory barriers and modernize federal approval processes to prioritize U.S.-manufactured drones. Additional provisions include expanded detection and mitigation authority, and streamlined regulations to accelerate the deployment of UAS across federal and commercial sectors. “These executive orders send a clear signal that the U.S. is serious about enabling a secure domestic drone industry that supports mission-critical outcomes for the U.S. and its allies,” said Brendan Stewart, VP of Regulatory Affairs at Red Cat. “This level of policy alignment removes barriers to fielding trusted, American-made systems at scale. Red Cat stands ready to meet this moment with its proven, electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing systems that utilize advanced AI and computer vision solutions from partners including Palantir, Palladyne AI, Athena AI and Primordial Labs.”

Legal Disclaimer / Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this article contains forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Winning Media is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice. Winning Media is only compensated for its services in the form of cash-based compensation. Pursuant to an agreement Winning Media has been paid three thousand five hundred dollars for advertising and marketing services for ZenaTech by ZenaTech. We own ZERO shares of ZenaTech. Please click here for full disclaimer.

Contact Information:

Ty Hoffer

Winning Media

281.804.7972

[email protected]

The drone industry is just starting to take off, creating a unique opportunity for ZenaTech (NASDAQ: ZENA), AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV), Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ: DRS), L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) and Red Cat Holdings (NASDAQ: RCAT).

That’s because drones are quickly becoming an essential tool for the U.S. government, and multi-billion-dollar businesses involved in defense, construction, logistics, agriculture, oil and gas, public security and even deliveries.

Look at the drone-as-a-service (DaaS) market, for example.

According to Research and Markets, the industry is expected to be worth about $355.55 billion by 2032. All thanks to strong business demand for enhanced efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Plus, with DaaS there’s no need for upfront costs or operational licensing.

All of which is a solid catalyst for ZenaTech. Plus, it’s what sets the company apart from its competition. Unlike its peers, ZenaTech is unique with its DaaS model for drones.

In fact, ZenaTech’s Drone as a Service (DaaS) business model offers both business and government customers reduced costs and convenience to utilize drones to streamline legacy processes and manual tasks such as inspections, surveying, maintenance, precision agriculture and inventory management ─ there is no need to purchase drone hardware and software, find a drone pilot, manage maintenance and operation, or acquire regulatory approvals.

The model also offers scalability to use more often or less often based on business needs and utilizes ZenaDrone’s multifunction AI autonomous drones.

Expanding its presence, ZenaTech Just Closed its Seventh Drone as a Service (DaaS) Acquisition in North Carolina Expanding its Southeast Region and Government Opportunities

ZenaTech just announced the closing of its seventh Drone as a Service acquisition. Morgan Surveying, a Greensboro, North Carolina-based land surveying firm, offers a full range of land surveying services including boundary and topographic surveys, surveys supporting real estate transactions, construction, land development, utility plans, and subdivision design and zoning. With a strong portfolio of municipal, county, and private sector clients, Morgan Surveying provides a strong fit for ZenaTech’s national DaaS platform.

This now marks the first completed acquisition in North Carolina, expanding the DaaS business presence in the Southeast region along with five recent Florida-based acquisitions. It also enhances the company’s ability to sell to both government and commercial customers.

Accorrding to Shaun Passley, Ph.D., ZenaTech CEO:

“By bringing Morgan Surveying into our DaaS portfolio we are strengthening operations in the Southeast region while accelerating expertise and expansion into government opportunities, particularly at the county, city and state level. We’re integrating AI-powered drones as an important land surveying tool, elevating how land is understood, mapped and managed. This transaction supports our growing national Drone as a Service network as well as our mission to deliver precise, efficient, and scalable drone-powered insights across multiple industries from construction to conservation.”

ZenaTech has now closed seven acquisitions across the US to date as part of its goal of acquiring and establishing 25 Drone as a Service locations nationwide by mid next year.

Other related developments from around the markets include:

AeroVironment, a global leader in intelligent, multi-domain autonomous systems, revealed Skyfall—a potential future mission concept for next-generation Mars Helicopters developed with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to help pave the way for human landing on Mars through autonomous aerial exploration. The concept is heavily focused on rapidly delivering an affordable, technically mature solution for expanded Mars exploration that would be ready for launch by 2028. Skyfall is designed to deploy six scout helicopters on Mars, where they would explore many of the sites selected by NASA and industry as top candidate landing sites for America's first Martian astronauts. While exploring the region, each helicopter can operate independently, beaming high-resolution surface imaging and sub-surface radar data back to Earth for analysis, helping ensure crewed vehicles make safe landings at areas with maximum amounts of water, ice, and other resources. The data Skyfall collects could also advance the nation's quest to discover whether Mars was ever habitable.

Leonardo DRS, a leading provider of advanced defense technologies, today reported financial results for the second quarter 2025, which ended June 30, 2025. “Leonardo DRS delivered another set of strong financial results marked by healthy bookings, solid organic revenue growth and continued profit and margin expansion in the second quarter. The need to deter and contest heightened global threats continues to bolster customer demand for our innovative, high-performance technologies. Amidst a more dynamic macro backdrop, we remain focused on disciplined execution and delivering differentiated capabilities to customers,” said Bill Lynn, Chairman and CEO of Leonardo DRS.

L3Harris Technologies and Joby Aviation announced they are exploring opportunities to develop a new aircraft class for defense applications. The gas turbine hybrid vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is designed for low-altitude missions and offers the versatility of being optionally piloted, enabling both crewed and fully autonomous operations. The collaboration leverages Joby’s existing commercial aircraft development program and leading manufacturing capabilities, combined with L3Harris’ proven expertise in platform missionization including sensors, effectors, communication and collaborative autonomy. Flight testing is expected to start this fall with the companies planning to perform operational demonstrations during government exercises in 2026.

Red Cat Holdings, a drone technology company integrating robotic hardware and software for military, government, and commercial operations, today issued a statement of support for a series of executive orders from the White House that advance U.S. leadership in uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and reinforce the resilience of America’s domestic industrial base. The executive actions are expected to remove regulatory barriers and modernize federal approval processes to prioritize U.S.-manufactured drones. Additional provisions include expanded detection and mitigation authority, and streamlined regulations to accelerate the deployment of UAS across federal and commercial sectors. “These executive orders send a clear signal that the U.S. is serious about enabling a secure domestic drone industry that supports mission-critical outcomes for the U.S. and its allies,” said Brendan Stewart, VP of Regulatory Affairs at Red Cat. “This level of policy alignment removes barriers to fielding trusted, American-made systems at scale. Red Cat stands ready to meet this moment with its proven, electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing systems that utilize advanced AI and computer vision solutions from partners including Palantir, Palladyne AI, Athena AI and Primordial Labs.”

Legal Disclaimer / Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this article contains forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Winning Media is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice. Winning Media is only compensated for its services in the form of cash-based compensation. Pursuant to an agreement Winning Media has been paid three thousand five hundred dollars for advertising and marketing services for ZenaTech by ZenaTech. We own ZERO shares of ZenaTech. Please click here for full disclaimer.

Contact Information:

Ty Hoffer
Winning Media
281.804.7972
[email protected]

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