AIRO and Nord Drone Group to Form Joint Venture Aimed at Accelerating Deployment of Ukraine-Battlefield-Tested Drone Technologies
Joint Venture to Focus on Delivering Expanded Line of Combat-Proven Drones in Strategic Alignment with
Soldiers monitor drone operations
Under the LOI, AIRO is expected to contribute manufacturing oversight, R&D resources, government procurement leadership, and strategic corporate support while Nord Drone is expected to provide proprietary drone technologies, production facilities, supply chain access, and coordination with defense ministries, including Ukraine鈥檚 Ministry of Defense.
This strategic partnership aims to enhance AIRO鈥檚 strong defense and aerospace portfolio by integrating Nord Drone鈥檚 high-volume, battlefield-proven drone systems into its platform. By combining AIRO鈥檚
Nord Drone produces a wide range of battlefield-proven drones including first-person view (FPV) strike units, loitering munitions, and multi-role bombers. Nord Drone currently manufactures approximately 4,000 drones per month, with the ability to scale up to 25,000 units with additional government support. Its systems are actively deployed in conflict zones and have consistently ranked among the top performers in military evaluations. Flagship models like the NORD-10 and NORD-15 offer up to 15 km range, 4.5 kg payloads, and advanced GPS/GLONASS/BeiDou navigation. Nord Drone designs its own flight controllers, ESCs, and video systems, delivering high performance and modularity.
AIRO鈥檚 RQ-35 Heidrun has demonstrated battlefield effectiveness with hundreds of thousands of flight hours across its deployed fleet, with advanced autonomous navigation, real-time ISR capabilities, and proven survivability in high-threat, GNSS/GPS-denied environments. The RQ-35 Heidrun has been credited with enhancing mission success rates and reducing operator risk across multiple theaters of operation, including the ongoing
鈥淭his strategic partnership represents a significant opportunity to deliver proven, battlefield-tested technology to our allies when they need it most,鈥� said Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria, Executive Chairman of AIRO. 鈥淏y combining our engineering, manufacturing capabilities, and NATO relationships with Nord Drone's exceptional technical expertise, we believe we can rapidly scale production of critical defense systems.鈥�
The joint venture is intended to serve urgent operational needs across key defense markets, including
鈥淥ur collaboration with AIRO has the potential to create a powerful platform to expand our combat-proven technologies to serve
鈥淭his LOI is the first step toward a joint venture that will exemplify our commitment to supporting our allied nations and their defense capabilities,鈥� said Joe Burns, CEO of AIRO. 鈥淏y combining proven technology, scalable manufacturing, and strategic market access, we believe we can position our companies to deliver impactful solutions for critical defense applications, together.鈥�
The LOI is non-binding and execution of definitive joint venture agreements is subject to customary conditions, including the completion of mutual due diligence and regulatory review processes. Each of AIRO and Nord Drone have agreed to use good faith efforts to negotiate definitive documentation within 60 days, however, there can be no assurance that such definitive documentation will be entered into on the terms described herein or at all.
About AIRO
AIRO is a technologically differentiated aerospace, autonomy, and air mobility platform targeting 21st century aerospace and defense opportunities. AIRO is organized into four operating segments, each of which represents a critical growth vector in the aerospace and defense market: Drones, Avionics, Training, and Electric Air Mobility.
Forward Looking Statements
The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. You can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as 鈥渂elieves,鈥� 鈥渆xpects,鈥� 鈥渕ay,鈥� 鈥渨ill,鈥� 鈥渟hould,鈥� 鈥渟eeks,鈥� 鈥渋ntends,鈥� 鈥減lans,鈥� 鈥渆stimates,鈥� or 鈥渁nticipates,鈥� or similar expressions which concern our strategy, plans, projections or intentions. These forward-looking statements may be included throughout this press release, and include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the proposed joint venture between AIRO and Nord Drone (the 鈥淛V鈥�), including the goals of, and opportunities for, the JV, the ability to consummate the JV and the timing thereof, and other statements that are not historical fact. By their nature, forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact or guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions or changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict or quantify, including those described in the section titled 鈥淩isk Factors鈥� in AIRO鈥檚 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2025 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (鈥淪EC鈥�) on August 13, 2025 as well as other filings AIRO may make with the SEC in the future. Forward-looking statements represent AIRO鈥檚 management鈥檚 beliefs and assumptions only as of the date such statements are made. AIRO undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.
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Investor Relations Contact
Dan Johnson
AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.
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Source: AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.
