UAV Factory has been acquired by AE Industrial Partners (AEI), a private equity firm specializing in aerospace, defense and government services. UAV Factory will be a new standalone unmanned technology platform for AEI, who are seeking to invest significantly in the rapidly-growing unmanned systems market.
UAV Factory is a recognised designer and manufacturer of tactical UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), and has delivered more than 300 aircraft to defense, intelligence, and commercial customers in over 55 countries. The company has a unique vertical integration strategy, producing airframes, engines, stabilized EO/IR ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) payloads and related components in-house.
UAV Factory’s Penguin C series UAS, featuring up to 20 hours of flight time and proprietary Octopus ISR gyro-stabilized sensors, are widely used by customers around the world for a variety of critical ISR missions. UAV Factory is based in Riga, Latvia, with a second location in Bend, Oregon.
Jeffrey Hart, Principal at AEI, commented: “UAV Factory’s engineering and technical capabilities, combined with its proven and growing set of technology solutions, are truly differentiated in the market. We are excited to partner with the talented UAV Factory team and are confident that our collective strategic vision for an unmanned technology platform will yield powerful results in this fast-growing market.”
Konstantin Popiks, Co-Founder of UAV Factory, said: “The UAV market is growing exponentially, and with the financial and operational support of AEI, UAV Factory is poised for increased growth and market share. By working closely with the AEI team, we plan to expand our technologies to provide our customers with the best-in-class, end-to-end solutions they need to make critical decisions.”
Kirk Konert, Partner at AEI, stated: “UAV Factory is at the forefront of the burgeoning global UAV market. Its first mover advantage and unique vertical integration of its proprietary technology solutions well-positions the Company to expand its share of this high growth market.”
