ZenaTech Poised to Benefit from Historic US Defense Spending─$33 Billion for Drone and Autonomy Investments in ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’

Rhea-AI Summary

ZenaTech (NASDAQ: ZENA) announced its strategic positioning to capitalize on the newly passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which allocates $33 billion for drone and autonomous systems development. The legislation, signed on July 4th, 2025, represents the largest investment in next-generation defense technologies to date.

The company's drone subsidiary, ZenaDrone, is set to benefit from $13.5 billion in drone funding and $16 billion for military innovation. ZenaTech's portfolio includes the ZenaDrone 1000, IQ Square, and IQ Nano drones, designed for various defense applications. The company's Drone as a Service (DaaS) offering will be tailored for US defense and government agencies.

The legislation also provides significant tax benefits, including full R&D expensing and 100% bonus depreciation through 2029, strengthening ZenaTech's financial position.

Positive

• Access to $33 billion in new defense spending for drones and autonomous systems
• Immediate tax benefits through R&D expensing and 100% bonus depreciation through 2029
• Existing paid trials with US Air Force and Navy Reserve
• Strategic positioning with multiple defense-ready drone products
• Flexible DaaS model tailored for government procurement

Negative

• Still pending Green UAS and Blue UAS certifications required for federal use
• Faces competition in a newly funded defense sector
• No immediate revenue impact disclosed

Insights

Defense Industry Analyst

ZenaTech positioned to capture share of historic $33B defense drone funding with existing military-tested product portfolio and service model.

The recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act represents a watershed moment for the drone and autonomous systems sector with an unprecedented $33 billion allocation specifically targeting these technologies. This legislation signals a major pivot in defense procurement strategy toward unmanned and autonomous capabilities that has been building for years.

Breaking down the numbers: $13.5 billion for drone/autonomy programs and $16 billion for military innovation creates an immediate addressable market for ZenaTech's drone portfolio. The inclusion of both hardware funding and innovation initiatives creates multiple potential revenue streams spanning product sales, R&D partnerships, and service contracts.

What's particularly notable is ZenaTech's existing portfolio alignment with defense priorities. Their ZenaDrone 1000 has already undergone paid trials with both Air Force and Navy Reserve for critical cargo delivery missions - demonstrating early market validation. Their Drone as a Service (DaaS) model specifically addresses procurement friction that traditionally slows defense adoption cycles.

The tax provisions - particularly the restoration of immediate R&D expensing under Section 174 and 100% bonus depreciation - deliver significant secondary benefits. For emerging tech companies like ZenaTech with substantial R&D budgets, these provisions dramatically improve cash flow dynamics and lower the effective cost of continued innovation.

While the press release doesn't specify current defense contract revenue, the company's pursuit of Green UAS and Blue UAS certification indicates established groundwork in the government security vetting process - a crucial prerequisite for defense contracts that creates barriers to entry for competitors without such certifications.

The defense drone market has historically been dominated by major contractors, but specialized providers with proprietary technology increasingly secure niches within broader defense programs. ZenaTech's AI-enabled autonomy and proprietary DroneNet system position it within higher-value segments of the market rather than commodity hardware production.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ZenaTech, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZENA) (FSE: 49Q) (BMV: ZENA) ("ZenaTech"), a technology company specializing in AI (Artificial Intelligence) drones, Drone as a Service (DaaS), Enterprise SaaS, and Quantum Computing solutions, today announces that it anticipates it will benefit significantly from provisions in the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act. This includes $33 billion in direct spending to advanced drones, autonomous systems, and broader US defense modernization, representing the largest single investment in these next-generation technologies to date. The bill, signed into law on July 4th, 2025, also includes over $150 billion in new defense spending and restores vital tax and R&D incentives that support companies such as ZenaTech and its drone subsidiary ZenaDrone, that are focused on scaling next-generation aerospace technologies. 

“This legislation is a generational opportunity for US companies engaged in advanced defense manufacturing and drone innovation, and we view it as both a catalyst and confirmation of our long-term strategy,” said Dr. Shaun Passley, CEO of ZenaTech. “The bill unlocks substantial opportunities for us to partner with government and defense agencies, while also strengthening our financial position through R&D expensing and bonus depreciation. We are ready to be a leader in the next era of aerial intelligence and autonomy with secure American-made drone systems,” added Dr. Passley.

Key Benefits for ZenaTech Under the New Legislation: 

• $13.5 Billion in Drone and Autonomy Funding: The bill dedicates billions to low-cost unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and collaborative combat aircraft programs—areas where ZenaDrone’s proprietary drone technology is primed to play a role. 
• $16 Billion for Military Innovation Initiatives: Includes targeted funding for the Defense Innovation Unit, small UAS scale-up, reusable hypersonics, and autonomous systems. ZenaTech intends to pursue new R&D partnerships under these programs. 
• Restoration of Full R&D Expensing: Domestic research and development costs are now immediately deductible under Section 174, offering ZenaTech the ability to recover prior-year expenses and reinvest capital into emerging technologies. 
• 100% Bonus Depreciation Through 2029: The company can now fully expense qualified machinery, robotics, and software, significantly improving year-one capital efficiency. 
• Energy-Efficiency Deductions Through 2026: With ongoing infrastructure expansion, ZenaTech will explore Section 179D deductions on facility upgrades and sustainable building investments. 
  

The company will actively pursue opportunities aligned with new defense procurement channels opened under the bill. 

Previously, the company announced its plan to qualify for Green UAS followed by Blue UAS certification for several of its ZenaDrone’s products. These are US government security vetting programs that certify drones as safe for federal and defense agency use. The portfolio of defense drone offerings include:

• The ZenaDrone 1000, a medium-sized VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) capable of lifting ~40 kg with AI-enabled autonomy, secure communications via its proprietary DroneNet system, and rugged construction. Designed for ISR- inspection, surveillance, and reconnaissance applications, it has undergone paid trials with both the US Air Force and Navy Reserve for critical cargo delivery (e.g., blood).
• The IQ Square, a VTOL drone (starting size 40”×40”) engineered for line-of-sight land surveys, infrastructure inspections, and defense reconnaissance tasks.
• The IQ Nano, a compact indoor drone (starting size 20″×20″), built to operate in GPS-denied environments like warehouses or military infrastructure for inventory management and security applications, it features obstacle avoidance, and AI-driven swarming or drone fleets.
• ZenaTech’s Drone as a Service (DaaS) offering will be tailored specifically for US defense and government agency use. The DaaS model accelerates government adoption by simplifying procurement and deployment, giving defense customers flexible, scalable, AI-powered drone solutions aligned with evolving mission needs.

About ZenaTech

ZenaTech (Nasdaq: ZENA) (FSE: 49Q) (BMV: ZENA) is a technology company specializing in AI drone, Drone as a Service (DaaS), enterprise SaaS and Quantum Computing solutions for mission-critical business applications. Since 2017, the Company has leveraged its software development expertise and grown its drone design and manufacturing capabilities through ZenaDrone, to innovate and improve customer inspection, monitoring, safety, security, compliance, and surveying processes. With enterprise software customers using branded solutions in law enforcement, health, government, and industrial sectors, and drones being implemented in these plus agriculture, defense, and logistics sectors, ZenaTech’s portfolio of solutions helps drive exceptional operational efficiencies, accuracy, and cost savings. The Company operates through seven global offices in North America, Europe, Taiwan, and UAE, and is growing its US DaaS business model and locations, and global partner network.

About ZenaDrone  

ZenaDrone, a wholly owned subsidiary of ZenaTech, develops and manufactures autonomous business drone solutions that can incorporate machine learning software, AI, predictive modeling, Quantum Computing, and other software and hardware innovations. Created to revolutionize the hemp farming sector, its specialization has grown to multifunctional drone solutions for industrial surveillance, monitoring, inspection, tracking, process automation and defense applications. Currently, the ZenaDrone 1000 drone is used for crop management applications in agriculture and critical field cargo applications in the defense sector, the IQ Nano indoor drone is used for inventory management and security in the warehouse and logistics sectors, and the IQ Square is an outdoor drone designed for land surveys and inspections use in commercial and defense sectors.

Contacts for more information:

Company, Investors, and Media:

Linda Montgomery

ZenaTech

312-241-1415

investors@zenatech.com

Investors:

Michael Mason

CORE IR

investors@zenatech.com

Safe Harbor

This press release and related comments by management of ZenaTech, Inc. include “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws and applicable Canadian securities laws. These forward-looking statements are subject to the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This forward-looking information relates to future events or future performance of ZenaTech and reflects management’s expectations and projections regarding ZenaTech’s growth, results of operations, performance, and business prospects and opportunities. Such forward-looking statements reflect management’s current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terminology such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “expect”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “aim”, “seek”, “is/are likely to”, “believe”, “estimate”, “predict”, “potential”, “continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology intended to identify forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking information in this document includes, but is not limited to ZenaTech’s expectations regarding its revenue, expenses, production, operations, costs, cash flows, and future growth; expectations with respect to future production costs and capacity; ZenaTech's ability to deliver products to the market as currently contemplated, including its drone products including ZenaDrone 1000 and IQ Nano; ZenaTech’s anticipated cash needs and it’s needs for additional financing; ZenaTech’s intention to grow the business and its operations and execution risk; expectations with respect to future operations and costs; the volatility of stock prices and market conditions in the industries in which ZenaTech operates; political, economic, environmental, tax, security, and other risks associated with operating in emerging markets; regulatory risks; unfavorable publicity or consumer perception; difficulty in forecasting industry trends; the ability to hire key personnel; the competitive conditions of the industry and the competitive and business strategies of ZenaTech; ZenaTech’s expected business objectives for the next twelve months; ZenaTech’s ability to obtain additional funds through the sale of equity or debt commitments; investment capital and market share; the ability to complete any contemplated acquisitions; changes in the target markets; market uncertainty; ability to access additional capital, including through the listing of its securities in various jurisdictions; management of growth (plans and timing for expansion); patent infringement; litigation; applicable laws, regulations, and any amendments affecting the business of ZenaTech. 

FAQ

How much funding is allocated for drones in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that affects ZENA stock?

The bill allocates $33 billion for advanced drones and autonomous systems, with $13.5 billion specifically for drone and autonomy funding and $16 billion for military innovation initiatives.

What are the main products ZenaTech (ZENA) offers for defense applications?

ZenaTech offers three main products: the ZenaDrone 1000 (40kg payload VTOL drone), the IQ Square (40"×40" VTOL drone for surveys), and the IQ Nano (20"×20" indoor drone for GPS-denied environments).

What tax benefits will ZenaTech (ZENA) receive under the new legislation?

ZenaTech will receive full R&D expensing under Section 174, 100% bonus depreciation through 2029, and potential energy-efficiency deductions through 2026.

Has ZenaTech (ZENA) secured any military contracts for its drones?

ZenaTech has conducted paid trials with both the US Air Force and Navy Reserve for critical cargo delivery using its ZenaDrone 1000.

What certifications does ZENA need for government drone contracts?

ZenaTech is working to obtain Green UAS and Blue UAS certifications, which are required US government security vetting programs that certify drones as safe for federal and defense agency use.