Orqa U.S. Awarded $38 Million Contract Under Pentagon’s Drone Dominance Program

Orqa U.S., a U.S.-owned drone manufacturer established through a partnership between Croatia’s Orqa and American defense technology company By Light, has announced a $38 million contract to manufacture drones under the U.S. Department of War’s Drone Dominance Gauntlet II program.

The award, announced on October 13, follows Orqa U.S.’s second-place finish in the program’s Close Quarters Battle competition. The company previously delivered 240 drones under an earlier $1.5 million award.

Orqa U.S. will manufacture the systems at By Light Professional IT Services’ 180,000-square-foot facility in Port Orange, Florida. The facility supports drone assembly, advanced manufacturing, testing and quality control. Under the partnership, Croatia-based Orqa provides the underlying drone technology, while By Light supports U.S. manufacturing and regulatory compliance.

The selected system belongs to Orqa’s MRM2 product family and includes an 8-inch drone designed for indoor operations alongside Orqa’s ground control system. The company has not disclosed the number of drones covered by the new $38 million contract or their delivery schedule.

Charles Phillips, CEO of Orqa U.S., described the contract as an important milestone following the company's performance in the close-quarters competition and its efforts to establish domestic manufacturing capacity.

Orqa U.S. was established in May 2026 as a separately controlled, U.S.-owned company. Its technology partner, Orqa, was founded in 2018 in Osijek, Croatia, by Srdjan Kovacevic, Ivan Jelusic and Vlatko Matijevic.

The Pentagon’s Drone Dominance program is designed to accelerate the procurement of relatively low-cost unmanned aerial systems through competitive testing and production assessments. Following Gauntlet II, conducted at Fort Carson, Colorado, in August, the program identified its five highest-ranked performers in each of two mission categories: Deep Strike and Close Quarters Battle. The program plans to order a combined 60,000 drones from the selected companies.

Source: Orqa U.S., October 13, 2026; U.S. Drone Dominance Program official announcements.