AIRO and Nord Drone Group to Form Joint Venture Aimed at Accelerating Deployment of Ukraine-Battlefield-Tested Drone Technologies

By: AIRO Group Holdings, Inc. via Business Wire

September 08, 2025 at 08:42 AM EDT

Joint Venture to Focus on Delivering Expanded Line of Combat-Proven Drones in Strategic Alignment with U.S. Defense Directives, NATO Operational Needs, and Ukraine’s Leadership in Drone Warfare

AIRO Group Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: AIRO) (“AIRO” or the “Company”), a global leader in advanced aerospace and defense technologies, today announced the signing of a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) with Nord Drone LLC (“Nord Drone”) to establish a strategic joint venture aimed at accelerating the deployment of combat-proven unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to the United States, Ukraine and other NATO member countries.

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Soldiers monitor drone operations

Under the LOI, AIRO is expected to contribute manufacturing oversight, R&D resources, government procurement leadership, and strategic corporate support while Nord Drone is expected to provide proprietary drone technologies, production facilities, supply chain access, and coordination with defense ministries, including Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense.

This strategic partnership aims to enhance AIRO’s strong defense and aerospace portfolio by integrating Nord Drone’s high-volume, battlefield-proven drone systems into its platform. By combining AIRO’s U.S.-based manufacturing infrastructure and expertise in government procurement with Nord Drone’s scalable production capabilities and combat-tested technologies, the collaboration is expected to significantly broaden AIRO’s reach across a wider spectrum of drone platforms. to support a more diverse range of mission profiles and operational needs from tactical reconnaissance units to advanced combat-ready systems.

Nord Drone produces a wide range of battlefield-proven drones including first-person view (FPV) strike units, loitering munitions, and multi-role bombers. Nord Drone currently manufactures approximately 4,000 drones per month, with the ability to scale up to 25,000 units with additional government support. Its systems are actively deployed in conflict zones and have consistently ranked among the top performers in military evaluations. Flagship models like the NORD-10 and NORD-15 offer up to 15 km range, 4.5 kg payloads, and advanced GPS/GLONASS/BeiDou navigation. Nord Drone designs its own flight controllers, ESCs, and video systems, delivering high performance and modularity.

AIRO’s RQ-35 Heidrun has demonstrated battlefield effectiveness with hundreds of thousands of flight hours across its deployed fleet, with advanced autonomous navigation, real-time ISR capabilities, and proven survivability in high-threat, GNSS/GPS-denied environments. The RQ-35 Heidrun has been credited with enhancing mission success rates and reducing operator risk across multiple theaters of operation, including the ongoing Ukraine conflict. The partnership with Nord Drone would expand AIRO’s reach into adjacent battlefield applications. introduce powerful new capabilities and reinforce AIRO’s position as a comprehensive provider of next-generation unmanned systems to global defense clients.

“This strategic partnership represents a significant opportunity to deliver proven, battlefield-tested technology to our allies when they need it most,” said Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria, Executive Chairman of AIRO. “By combining our engineering, manufacturing capabilities, and NATO relationships with Nord Drone's exceptional technical expertise, we believe we can rapidly scale production of critical defense systems.”

The joint venture is intended to serve urgent operational needs across key defense markets, including the United States, Ukraine, NATO member countries, and other mutually agreed territories. It will support both immediate conflict response and long-term modernization initiatives.

“Our collaboration with AIRO has the potential to create a powerful platform to expand our combat-proven technologies to serve U.S. and NATO forces,” said Yevgen Kotukh, CTO of Nord Drone. “This partnership will enable us to leverage established manufacturing infrastructure while maintaining the technical excellence that has made our systems so effective in our current operations.”

“This LOI is the first step toward a joint venture that will exemplify our commitment to supporting our allied nations and their defense capabilities,” said Joe Burns, CEO of AIRO. “By combining proven technology, scalable manufacturing, and strategic market access, we believe we can position our companies to deliver impactful solutions for critical defense applications, together.”

The LOI is non-binding and execution of definitive joint venture agreements is subject to customary conditions, including the completion of mutual due diligence and regulatory review processes. Each of AIRO and Nord Drone have agreed to use good faith efforts to negotiate definitive documentation within 60 days, however, there can be no assurance that such definitive documentation will be entered into on the terms described herein or at all.

About AIRO

AIRO is a technologically differentiated aerospace, autonomy, and air mobility platform targeting 21st century aerospace and defense opportunities. AIRO is organized into four operating segments, each of which represents a critical growth vector in the aerospace and defense market: Drones, Avionics, Training, and Electric Air Mobility.

Forward Looking Statements

The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. You can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “believes,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” or “anticipates,” or similar expressions which concern our strategy, plans, projections or intentions. These forward-looking statements may be included throughout this press release, and include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the proposed joint venture between AIRO and Nord Drone (the “JV”), including the goals of, and opportunities for, the JV, the ability to consummate the JV and the timing thereof, and other statements that are not historical fact. By their nature, forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact or guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions or changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict or quantify, including those described in the section titled “Risk Factors” in AIRO’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2025 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on August 13, 2025 as well as other filings AIRO may make with the SEC in the future. Forward-looking statements represent AIRO’s management’s beliefs and assumptions only as of the date such statements are made. AIRO undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250908875568/en/

“Our collaboration with AIRO has the potential to create a powerful platform to expand our combat-proven technologies to serve U.S. and NATO forces,” said Yevgen Kotukh, CTO of Nord Drone

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AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.

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AIRO and Nord Drone Group to Form Joint Venture Aimed at Accelerating Deployment of Ukraine-Battlefield-Tested Drone Technologies

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