Every drone stock moved.
On Thursday, a report from The Wall Street Journal suggested the Pentagon is exploring ways to fund a handful of U.S. drone companies — potentially even taking equity stakes.
That sparked a buying frenzy across the drone sector, sending several stocks soaring double digits and turning one of the market’s quietest industries into the hottest trade on Wall Street.
The question now isn’t whether drones had a great day.
The question is whether Thursday was the beginning of something much bigger.
Here is the story ⇩
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The stocks · Drones
A Wall Street Journal report said the administration is in talks to fund a group of US drone makers — potentially including equity stakes. The market did not wait for confirmation.
Unusual Machines UMAC ( ▼ 13.82% ) — a Florida-based drone parts maker backed by Donald Trump Jr., who is both a shareholder and advisory board member — closed up 57% at an all-time high. The WSJ named it as one of three companies identified by the Pentagon for possible funding, alongside privately held Performance Drone Works and Neros Technologies, backed by Sequoia Capital.
The move spread immediately across the entire sector. Every drone-linked stock in the market caught a bid — named or not. The JEDI ( ▲ 11.69% ) captured the whole move in one ticker, rallying 12%.
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A Quick Brief On Each
1 Unusual Machines | NYSE American | UMAC ( ▼ 13.82% )
Florida-based drone parts maker trading on NYSE American. Makes components for consumer and commercial drones. Q1 2026 revenue surged 296% year over year to $8.1 million — its eighth consecutive quarter of record revenues. One of three companies named by Pentagon for possible funding.
! Closed at an all-time high.
2 Red Cat Holdings | Nasdaq | RCAT ( ▲ 32.62% )
US-based provider of advanced all-domain drone and robotic solutions for defense and national security. Through subsidiaries Teal Drones and FlightWave Aerospace, makes American hardware and software for military, government, and public safety across air, land, and sea.
Flagship product is the Black Widow — a purpose-built ISR drone currently fielded by the US Army under the Short Range Reconnaissance program.
→ Targeting 2026 revenue of $170 million, ramping Black Widow production to 1,000 units per month.
Not named as a Pentagon funding recipient
3 Aevex Corp | NYSE | AVEX ( ▲ 31.13% )
Raised $320 million in its April 17 IPO — multiple times oversubscribed. Solana Beach, California-based military drone maker and US Department of War contractor. Makes unmanned aerial systems underpinned by its proprietary AI-based CompassX sensor-fusion engine, which delivers assured positioning, navigation and timing in GPS-denied environments. Best known for producing the Phoenix Ghost one-way attack aircraft, first sent to Ukraine in April 2022.
→ Has delivered or committed to more than 9,300 systems representing over $1.2 billion in contract value through end of 2026.
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4 AIRO Group Holdings | Nasdaq | AIRO ( ▲ 21.95% )
Aerospace, autonomy, and air mobility platform organized into four segments: Drones, Avionics, Training, and Electric Air Mobility.
Flagship product is the RQ-35 Heidrun — an AI-enabled surveillance drone proven in battlefield conditions. Completed its first US-manufactured RQ-35 drones at its Phoenix, Arizona facility and is on track for Blue UAS certification in H1 2026, which would expand its addressable US Department of Defense market.
Not named as a Pentagon funding recipient.
5 AeroVironment | Nasdaq | AVAV ( ▲ 18.27% )
Specializes in small, man-portable loitering munitions — the Switchblade 300, 400, and 600 families. These are tube-launched drones that loiter, identify targets, and strike with precision. The Switchblade 300 handles personnel and light vehicles; the 600 tackles armor.
In May 2026, expanded its AV Halo mission software with the INSTINCT autonomy framework and DETECT RF sensing suite, while securing a $43 million Department of War contract.
→ Q3 2026 revenue hit $408 million — up 143% year over year.
Not named as a Pentagon funding recipient.
6 Swarmer | Nasdaq | SWMR ( ▲ 16.95% )
Austin, Texas-based drone autonomy software company.
Trading on Nasdaq Capital Market since March 17, 2026.
→ IPO’d at $5 per share — stock surged dramatically on debut. Enables a single operator to manage a swarm of up to 25 drones.
Its Trident OS and Styx platform have been battle-tested in Ukraine since 2024, facilitating more than 100,000 combat missions.
→ Pre-profit, targeting $19.9 million in 2026 revenue from a $33.1 million backlog.
Not named as a Pentagon funding recipient.
A few more 👀
7 Kratos Defense | Nasdaq | KTOS ( ▲ 0.58% )
→ Makes the XQ-58 Valkyrie autonomous combat drone, jet-powered unmanned systems, and hypersonic vehicles.
→ Q1 2026 revenue of $371 million — up 23% year over year — led by its unmanned systems unit which grew 31%.
→ Leads the Pentagon’s MACH-TB 2.0 hypersonic test bed program under a $1.45 billion prime contract.
→ Also makes propulsion systems for drones and missiles, counter-unmanned aircraft systems, and directed energy and communication systems.
Not named as a Pentagon funding recipient
8 Drone & Modern Warfare ETF | JEDI ( ▲ 11.69% )
The broadest single measure of Thursday’s move. Captures the entire drone and modern warfare sector in one ticker. Its 12% rally reflects how far the Pentagon funding news spread beyond the three named companies — lifting the whole ecosystem simultaneously.
→ An efficient way to track sector sentiment on any given day.
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