Top Manufacturers In The Military And Institutional Unmanned Vehicle Market

Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMC)

Lockheed Martin is creating the Human Universal Load Carrier (HULC), an exoskeleton capable of assisting soldiers in carrying up to 200 pounds of equipment travelling at 10 miles per hour. It’s essentially their own version of the Iron Man suit.

A little bit about them

Lockheed Martin is a public corporation that is headquartered in North Bethesda, Maryland, in Washington, D.C. Their present CEO is James D. Taiclet.

They were established in 1995 after a merger between Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta.

Lockheed Martin’s annual revenue was around $65.4 billion USD in 2020.

The Company operates through four segments: Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems, and Space.

LMC has offices in the following countries:

United States
Canada
United Kingdom
Germany
Australia
India
Chile
Japan
Poland
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Korea (Republic of)
United Arab Emirates

What they offer

Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMC) is a global security and aerospace company engaged in research, design, development, manufacturing, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The company also provides management, engineering, cybersecurity, and a range of other services.
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What makes them good

LMC has a very efficient hiring process that is fairly normal and very organized. A former CEO stated in an interview, “Find good people. Tell them what you want and then leave them alone.” He stated that he believed in delegation.

This shows how simple yet effective they are as a business.

Happy, hard-working and talented employees give them great productive results which lead them to incredible innovations.

LMC believes in making the world a better place by preventing possible injuries or fatalities with unmanned systems that can replace humans and carry out dangerous tasks more efficiently.

Popular drones

Here are a few of Lockheed Martin’s popular unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs):

RQ-170
Stalker XE
U-2S
D-21
Polecat

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General Atomics

General Atomics has a 120 m test facility in San Diego, and they also have access to 8 km of Union Pacific’s freight shuttle rails in Los Angeles.

A little bit about them

General Atomics (GA) is a private American company that was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in San Diego, California. Their current CEO is J. Neal Blue.

GA is an energy and defence corporation that specializes in research and technology development.

GA started off as part of General Dynamic’s General Atomic division. They later obtained their own facilities and focused on building a nuclear reactor called the TRIGA nuclear research reactor.

The company was sold and bought by various organizations throughout the 60s to the late 90s where it along the way started producing products for multiple markets.

It finally ended by being sold to the Blue brothers, Neil and Linden Blue and they renamed it General Atomics.

They have 3 offices in San Diego, California, one in Poway, California, and a final one in Washington, DC.

Their subsidiaries include General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, General Atomics Systems Integration, Diazyme, ConverDyn, Cotter, Nuclear Fuels Corporation.

What they offer

General Atomics develops energy, defense, and commercial technology solutions.

This includes physics research in support of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion energy. The company also provides research and manufacturing services for remotely operated surveillance aircraft, including the Predator drones, airborne sensors, and advanced electric, electronic, wireless, and laser technologies.
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What makes them good

Starting out small in a small schoolhouse converted into headquarters in 1992, later evolving into a huge multi-billion dollar company, GA continues to support and maintain its educational outreach program which helps bring the business and research side of science into the classroom.

This program was then expanded in 1995 and the General Atomics Sciences Education Foundation was established.

The General Atomics Sciences Education Foundation’s goal is to play a major role in enhancing pre-college education in science, engineering, and new technologies.
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Popular drones

Here is a short list of General Atomics popular unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs):

MQ-1 Predator
MQ-9 Reaper
Avenger
MQ-1C Gray Eagle

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Northrop Grumman Corporation

Both Marilyn Monroe and Bill Gates worked at one of our heritage companies
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A little bit about them

Northrop Grumman is an American global aerospace and defense technology company.

The original name of the company was Northrop Aircraft and was founded by Jack Northrop in 1939. It later bought a series of corporations, one of which was Grumman Aerospace.

The company then became Northrop Grumman (NG). This means the company as we refer to it today was established in 1994.

Today, Kathy J. Warden is the current CEO. The corporation earned a total revenue of $33.8 billion in 2019.

The company is separated into multiple business sectors including:

Aeronautics Systems
Mission Systems
Defense Systems
Space Systems
Affiliated companies and partners

Their current headquarters are in Falls Church, Virginia of the United States.

They created the first unmanned, autonomous air system to operate from an aircraft carrier, the X-47B.

They have fallen into legal trouble in the United States. More specifically, their subsidiary Litton Industries.

Northrop Grumman agreed to pay a $15 million fine for 110 violations, occurring between September 1998 and November 1998, of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).
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What they offer

Northrop Grumman is a company providing autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance), strike, space, logistics, and modernization solutions.
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What makes them good

NG provides some of the most sophisticated, state of the art military unmanned aerial systems.

The company focuses on staying committed to maintaining good ethics and integrity in order to continue on the path they want to achieve.

They prioritize trust and transparency and respect each of their employees in order to boost work morale and productivity.

Popular drones

Here is a short list of popular Northrop Grumman unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs):

X-47B UCAS
B-21 Raider
B-2 Spirit
Firebird
Fire Scout

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AeroVironment Inc.

AeroVironment is the Pentagon’s top supplier of small drones, including the Raven, Wasp and Puma models.

A little bit about them

AeroVironment is a public company that was founded in 1971 by Paul B. MacCready Junior.

Their headquarters are located in Simi Valley, California. They have offices all over the United States such as in Huntsville in Alabama, Burlington in Massachusetts and Lawrence in Kansas.

In 2020, they had an estimated revenue of $363.3 million.

Their subsidiaries include Arcturus UAV, Telerob and Skytower Incorporated.

AeroVironment was the first to create a successful human-powered airplane called the Gossamer Condor. They continued to innovate with further solar-powered variants of this plane, high altitude planes, long-endurance solar planes and much more.

What they offer

The company designs, develops, produces, and supports small unmanned aircraft systems, tactical missile systems, high-altitude pseudo-satellites, and commercial information systems.
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What makes them good

AeroVironment innovate and go to great lengths to produce working and safe unmanned aerial systems including other things.

They care for their employees and believe in strong work ethics.

As they put it:

At AeroVironment, our purpose is to secure lives and advance sustainability through transformative innovation. Our solutions give our customers a fresh vantage point, positioning them to see the world with new eyes and extending their reach beyond the line of sight.
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Popular drones

Here is a short list of popular AeroVironment UAVs:

Gossamer Condor
Solar Challenger
NASA Pathfinder and Pathfinder Plus
RQ-11 Raven
SkyTote

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Raytheon Technologies Corporation

In the 1930s, Raytheon was one of the world’s largest vacuum tube manufacturing companies. In the late 1960s, they also became a dominant manufacturer in the microwave oven business.

A little bit about them

Raytheon Technologies is a public aerospace and defense company that was founded on April 3 2020. They provide systems and services for commercial, military, and government customers.

The CEO of Raytheon Technologies is Gregory J. Hayes. Their revenue was $56.6 billion in 2020.

Headquarters are in Waltham, Massachusetts and they have several more offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

They have four business segments which consist of Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space, and Raytheon Missiles & Defense.

Raytheon technologies were formed as a result of a merger between the Raytheon Company, which was founded in 1922, and United Technologies Company, which was formed as a result of Boeing Airplane & Transport Corporation teaming up with Pratt & Whitney.

Raytheon Company originally focused on producing electrical appliances like refrigerator technology. This soon shifted towards electronics in general.

They continued to expand the products they produced, going from vacuum tubes, and becoming the largest manufacturers of vacuum tubes, to radar systems, and even being the first to produce and sell the microwave oven for commercial use.

After World War II, the company continued to produce new technology such as the first guidance system for a missile that would allow it to intercept a flying object.

Raytheon acquired many companies throughout its time before this big merger. After the merger between Raytheon Company and United Technologies Company, the new Raytheon Technologies Corporation became one of the biggest aerospace and defense companies in the world.

What they offer

Raytheon Technologies (RTX) researches, develops, and manufactures advanced technology products in the aerospace and defense industry, including aircraft engines, avionics, aerostructures, cybersecurity, missiles, air defense systems, and drones.
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Pratt & Whitney builds and designs gas turbines and aircraft engines.

Collins Aerospace designs and manufactures aerospace systems for commercial, regional, corporate and military aircraft. They’re a major supplier for international space programs.

They provide industrial products for the hydrocarbon, chemical, and food processing industries, construction and mining companies.

Raytheon Intelligence & Space was formerly Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services (IIS) and Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems (SAS).

Raytheon Missiles & Defense was formerly Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) and Raytheon Missile Systems (RMS).

Raytheon does not mainly produce unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), instead, they provide defense systems against UAVs, ways to arm UAVs, radar technology and more.

What makes them good

Raytheon are the pioneers in many things and have proven to be innovative without fail all the way back to 1922. They have contributed to many new technologies that we now take for granted.

They are industry leaders and dominate many of the industries they enter due to their aspirations and goals.

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OnPoynt

OnPoynt makes it easy for educational organizations to access innovative drone technology as a package for a hands-on build, fly and learn.

A little bit about them

OnPoynt was established in 2012. They partner with drone manufacturers and create drone kits for STEM education.

OnPoynt makes it easy for educational organizations to access innovative drone technology to hands-on build, fly and learn.
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STEM stand for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. STEM education is an education method that integrates all of the above mentioned subjects in a coherent way.

What they offer

They provide easy access to educators who want to provide a STEM drone aerial robotics program in their curriculum.

They can also create custom solutions for educators if they don’t find what they’re looking for.

OnPoynt offers 5-6 drone kits, an underwater drone kit, associated flight controllers and training videos.

What makes them good

OnPoynt strive to educate educators on the importance and the need for STEM education in young children. They provide helpful resources so that educators can set this up in one click.

Their team is comprised of experienced Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) drone pilots who have commercial expertise and military aviation experience.

Popular drones

Here is a short list of popular OnPoynt drones:

Cobra
Scout
The Hawk
The Longbow
The Crane

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BAE Systems PLC

BAE Systems is the largest defence contractor in Europe.

A little bit about them

BAE Systems is a British public company that develops, delivers, and supports advanced defence and aerospace systems.

The company was founded in 1999. Its headquarters are in both London and Farnborough in the United Kingdom but it operates worldwide.

Its CEO has been Charles Woodburn since 2017 and it earned £19.28 billion GBP in 2020.

Its subsidiaries consist of Air Astana, BAE Systems Inc., MBDA, BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, Vickers and Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited.

Its subsidiary, BAE Systems Inc. is one of the six largest suppliers to the US Department of Defense.

What they offer

They operate in Air, Maritime, Land, and Cybersecurity domains.

They offer combat aircraft, nuclear weapons, missiles, artillery guns, munitions, armored vehicles, tanks, unmanned aerial vehicles, warships, radar systems and nuclear submarines.

What makes them good

BAE Systems is the successor to many of the most famous British aircraft, defense electronics and warship manufacturers such as Marconi Electronic Systems (MES) and British Aerospace.

They have immense experience in all of the fields they are in which leads to incredible innovations from smart and talented individuals.

Popular drones

Here is a short list of popular BAE Systems unmanned aerial vehicles:

Demon
Mantis
PHASA-35
GA 22
HERTI

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Insitu Inc.

Insitu’s unmanned aerial vehicles are launched from a pneumatic catapult launcher and are recovered with the SkyHook recovery system.

A little bit about them

Insitu is a subsidiary of Boeing Defense, Space & Security and was founded in 1994.

Their CEO is Megan Davies and they’re headquartered in Washington in the United States. They have other offices in Oregon, as well as Australia and the United Kingdom.

The company derives its name from the process of measuring the atmosphere in situ (in place), as opposed to remotely, by satellite.
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Insitu was acquired by Boeing in 2008.

What they offer

Insitu designs, develops, produces and operates high-performance, cost-effective unmanned aircraft systems primarily for military applications.

What makes them good

As they put it:

We pioneer autonomous systems to positively impact people’s lives and change the course of history
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Popular drones

Since Insitu is now a subsidiary of Boeing, we will only include the ScanEagle UAV which we did not mention in that section.

ScanEagle

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DroneBlocks

DroneBlocks is the leading drone programming environment in STEM education.

A little bit about them

DroneBlocks has a team that is both passionate and experienced in the drone industry. They’re based in Austin, Texas.

They provide an online membership to obtain some of their products and a free app.

Their curriculum is compatible with more powerful and advanced drones than just the Tello and Tello EDU and they include STEM/STEAM applications across all subjects.

What they offer

DroneBlocks teaches STEM and the real-world application of drone technology through our free app, online curriculum, and professional development services.
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They provide training on Block, Python and JavaScript coding all through DJI drones such as the Tello and Tello EDU.

They have a simulator called DroneBlocks Simulator and coding software called DroneBlocks Code including over 100 courses that are all included in the membership.

What makes them good

DroneBlocks has put a lot of effort in order to provide the most helpful and useful program for children to teach them the joy of programming and of drones.

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