The investment includes a five-year lease and fit-out costs for the new site, which will triple the size of DroneShield’s current production floor. As part of the expansion, the company’s existing facility will be repurposed into a 5,530-square-metre research and development hub.
This growth follows a series of major contract wins, including a $61.6 million deal in Europe—DroneShield’s largest to date—and additional contracts in Latin America and the Five Eyes alliance. The company is also planning a European Centre of Excellence to support regional defence programmes such as the EUR800 billion ReArm Europe Plan.
“In response to rising threats and multiple wars taking place across the globe, Australia’s allies are increasing investment in modern defence capabilities,” said DroneShield CEO Oleg Vornik. He added, “We are stepping up to meet this demand by investing in state-of-the-art facilities here and abroad, and in sovereign Australian skills development to provide the most modern and effective counter-drone capabilities in the world.”
Exports currently make up 91 per cent of DroneShield’s operations, underscoring its contribution to Australia’s Future Made in Australia plan. Vornik noted that the company’s new Alexandria facility will “epitomise the value Australian engineering can bring to a changing geopolitical landscape.”
According to Vornik, the shifting global security environment has also sparked renewed interest among younger Australians in defence industry careers. “We are seeing a rise in national pride as tyrants attempt to change the world order,” he said, “and that’s translating to an uptick in younger staff seeking opportunities and adding real and timely value to Australia’s defence efforts.”
