ZenaTech to Accelerate ZenaDrone Manufacturing for US Defense and Commercial Drones Following Recent One Big Beautiful Bill, Executive Orders, and Secretary of Defense Policy Directives
ZenaTech (NASDAQ: ZENA) has announced plans to accelerate and expand its Phoenix, Arizona-based drone manufacturing facilities in response to recent favorable US policy changes. The company will triple its facility size and increase its workforce from 7 to 30 employees over the next 6-12 months.
The expansion is driven by transformative policy directives including the 'One Big Beautiful Bill', which streamlines defense procurement processes and removes certification barriers for drone manufacturers. ZenaTech's product portfolio includes the ZenaDrone 1000, a medium-sized VTOL drone capable of lifting 40kg, the IQ Square for land surveys, and the IQ Nano for indoor operations, along with their Drone as a Service (DaaS) offering.
ZenaTech (NASDAQ: ZENA) ha annunciato l'intenzione di accelerare ed espandere i suoi stabilimenti per la produzione di droni a Phoenix, Arizona, in risposta ai recenti cambiamenti favorevoli nelle politiche statunitensi. L'azienda triplicherà le dimensioni della struttura e aumenterà il personale da 7 a 30 dipendenti nei prossimi 6-12 mesi.
L'espansione è motivata da direttive politiche rivoluzionarie, tra cui il 'One Big Beautiful Bill', che semplifica i processi di approvvigionamento della difesa e elimina le barriere di certificazione per i produttori di droni. Il portfolio prodotti di ZenaTech include il ZenaDrone 1000, un drone VTOL di dimensioni medie in grado di sollevare 40 kg, l'IQ Square per rilevamenti terrestri e l'IQ Nano per operazioni indoor, insieme alla loro offerta Drone as a Service (DaaS).
ZenaTech (NASDAQ: ZENA) ha anunciado planes para acelerar y expandir sus instalaciones de fabricación de drones en Phoenix, Arizona, en respuesta a recientes cambios favorables en la política estadounidense. La compañía triplicará el tamaño de sus instalaciones y aumentará su plantilla de 7 a 30 empleados en los próximos 6-12 meses.
La expansión está impulsada por directivas políticas transformadoras, incluyendo el 'One Big Beautiful Bill', que agiliza los procesos de adquisición de defensa y elimina barreras de certificación para los fabricantes de drones. El portafolio de productos de ZenaTech incluye el ZenaDrone 1000, un dron VTOL de tamaño medio capaz de levantar 40 kg, el IQ Square para levantamientos terrestres y el IQ Nano para operaciones en interiores, junto con su oferta de Drone as a Service (DaaS).
ZenaTech (NASDAQ: ZENA)는 최근 미국의 우호적인 정책 변화에 대응하여 애리조나주 피닉스에 위치한 드론 제조 시설의 가속화 및 확장 계획을 발표했습니다. 회사는 향후 6-12개월 동안 시설 규모를 3배로 확대하고 직원 수를 7명에서 30명으로 늘릴 예정입니다.
이번 확장은 국방 조달 절차를 간소화하고 드론 제조업체의 인증 장벽을 제거하는 'One Big Beautiful Bill' 등 획기적인 정책 지침에 힘입은 것입니다. ZenaTech의 제품 포트폴리오에는 40kg을 들어 올릴 수 있는 중형 VTOL 드론인 ZenaDrone 1000, 지상 조사용 IQ Square, 실내 작업용 IQ Nano와 함께 Drone as a Service(DaaS) 서비스가 포함되어 있습니다.
ZenaTech (NASDAQ : ZENA) a annoncé son projet d'accélérer et d'étendre ses installations de fabrication de drones basées à Phoenix, Arizona, en réponse aux récentes évolutions favorables de la politique américaine. L'entreprise va tripler la taille de ses installations et augmenter ses effectifs de 7 à 30 employés au cours des 6 à 12 prochains mois.
Cette expansion est motivée par des directives politiques transformatrices, notamment le « One Big Beautiful Bill », qui simplifie les processus d'approvisionnement en défense et supprime les barrières de certification pour les fabricants de drones. Le portefeuille de produits de ZenaTech comprend le ZenaDrone 1000, un drone VTOL de taille moyenne capable de soulever 40 kg, le IQ Square pour les levés terrestres, et le IQ Nano pour les opérations en intérieur, ainsi que leur offre Drone as a Service (DaaS).
ZenaTech (NASDAQ: ZENA) hat Pläne angekündigt, seine Drohnenfertigungsanlagen in Phoenix, Arizona, als Reaktion auf kürzliche positive Änderungen der US-Politik zu beschleunigen und zu erweitern. Das Unternehmen wird die Größe seiner Anlage verdreifachen und die Belegschaft von 7 auf 30 Mitarbeiter in den nächsten 6-12 Monaten erhöhen.
Die Expansion wird durch transformative politische Richtlinien angetrieben, darunter der 'One Big Beautiful Bill', der die Beschaffungsprozesse im Verteidigungsbereich vereinfacht und Zertifizierungsbarrieren für Drohnenhersteller beseitigt. Das Produktportfolio von ZenaTech umfasst die ZenaDrone 1000, eine mittelgroße VTOL-Drohne mit einer Tragfähigkeit von 40 kg, den IQ Square für Landvermessungen und den IQ Nano für den Inneneinsatz sowie ihr Drone as a Service (DaaS)-Angebot.
- None.
- Significant capital investment required for facility expansion
- Execution risk in scaling operations from 7 to 30 employees
- Competition from other domestic drone manufacturers likely to increase under new policies
Insights
ZenaTech accelerates drone production facility expansion due to transformative defense policy changes, positioning for increased military sales.
ZenaTech's announcement to triple its Arizona manufacturing footprint represents a strategic pivot to capitalize on watershed policy changes in US defense procurement. The recent 'One Big Beautiful Bill' alongside executive orders has fundamentally restructured how small drone manufacturers can access defense contracts by eliminating traditional certification barriers that previously favored entrenched contractors.
What's particularly significant is the removal of Blue/Green UAS certification requirements, which typically created 12-24 month delays before new systems could enter the field. This accelerated pathway allows ZenaTech to sell directly to military units without the traditional procurement bottlenecks that have historically stifled innovation in defense technology.
The company's portfolio is well-positioned to address specific military needs. The ZenaDrone 1000's
The planned workforce expansion from 7 to 30 employees within 6-12 months indicates confidence in substantial contract volume. Maintaining dual manufacturing locations (Arizona and UAE) provides supply chain resilience while ensuring domestic production credentials required for sensitive defense applications.
This facility expansion accelerates ZenaTech's transition from primarily commercial applications toward defense market penetration, targeting the Group 1 and 2 drone segments where procurement reforms have created the most immediate opportunities. The policy changes enable ZenaTech to capitalize on the Pentagon's urgent need for affordable, rapidly deployable unmanned systems without navigating traditional acquisition timeframes.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ZenaTech, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZENA) (FSE: 49Q) (BMV: ZENA) ("ZenaTech"), a business technology solution provider specializing in AI (Artificial Intelligence) drones, Drone as a Service (DaaS), Enterprise SaaS, and Quantum Computing solutions, today announces it will accelerate expansion of its Phoenix Arizona-based facilities -- including tripling the square footage size -- to enable full US drone manufacturing, assembly and testing. This expansion comes earlier than expected due to the recent transformative US policy directives from the White House, the Department of Defense, and the recently passed ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ that collectively have unlocked federal funding for domestic production, cut outdated certification and procurement barriers, and fast-tracked deployment directly to frontline units without requiring Blue or Green UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) certification.
These new directives make it dramatically easier and faster for American drone companies—especially those building Group 1 and 2 affordable drone systems—to sell directly to the military, scale production, and innovate without delays from traditional defense procurement bottlenecks. Together, they signal a clear national priority: build drones in America, field them fast, and outpace adversaries.
“These recent actions represent a historic turning point that gives us the confidence to start substantial facility expansion now,” said Shaun Passley, Ph.D., ZenaTech CEO. “By cutting red tape, opening funding channels, and fast-tracking field deployment for drones, they’ve created an unprecedented opportunity for us to sell directly to the US military at speed and scale. These reforms allow us to innovate faster and expand production to meet urgent defense needs without being held back by outdated certification and procurement hurdles.”
ZenaTech is currently seeking a new larger facility to enable US start-to-finish drone manufacturing and to house its existing Phoenix team of seven which it plans to grow to up to 30 over the next six to 12 months. This site is in addition to its existing operational manufacturing facility in Sharjah, UAE.
At the new facility, the company will produce its portfolio of defense and commercial drone offerings including:
The ZenaDrone 1000, a medium-sized (12’x7’) VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) capable of lifting ~40 kg with AI-enabled autonomy, secure communications via its proprietary DroneNet system, and rugged construction. It is designed for BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) use, commercial inspections, and precision agriculture applications. Defense applications include ISR- inspection, surveillance, and reconnaissance applications, and the company has completed paid trials with both the US Air Force and Navy Reserve for critical field cargo delivery (e.g., blood). The company is also working on a gas-powered version for longer flight times for applications such as border patrol.
The IQ Square, a VTOL drone (starting size 40”×40”) engineered for line-of-sight land surveys, infrastructure and other outdoor inspections, as well as inspections and reconnaissance tasks for defense.
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 can operate in AI-driven drone fleets.
Drone as a Service (DaaS) model is an offering that provides government, defense, and commercial users with fully managed drone operations, including ZenaDrone’s drone hardware, software, drone pilots, maintenance, data collection, and analytics, all bundled into a service-based subscription for flexibility and scalability.
About ZenaTech
ZenaTech (Nasdaq: ZENA) (FSE: 49Q) (BMV: ZENA) is a business technology solution provider 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, government, and industrial sectors, and drones being implemented in agriculture, defense, logistics and land survey sectors, ZenaTech’s portfolio of solutions helps drive exceptional operational efficiencies, precision and cost savings. The Company operates through offices in North America, Europe, Taiwan, and UAE, and is growing its DaaS business and network in the US.
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, 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 survey 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
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