Five Hot Drone Stocks to Own Heading into New Year 2026

Distributed on behalf of ZenaTech

When it comes to drones, the sky is the limit for ZenaTech (NASDAQ: ZENA), AIRO Group Holdings (NASDAQ: AIRO), Red Cat Holdings (NASDAQ: RCAT), AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV), and Leonardo DRS Inc. (NASDAQ: DRS).

Not only are drones quickly becoming an essential tool for the U.S. government, but also for multi-billion-dollar businesses involved in defense, construction, logistics, agriculture, oil and gas, public security, deliveries, engineering, and telecom.

All of which is helping to strengthen a potential $355.55 billion drone-as-a-service (DaaS) market, according to Research and Markets, by 2032. Making DaaS even more attractive is the strong business demand for enhanced efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Plus, with DaaS there’s no need for upfront costs or operational licensing.

All of which is a solid catalyst for DaaS companies, such as ZenaTech (NASDAQ: ZENA).

In fact, ZenaTech’s Drone as a Service (DaaS) business model is designed to offer business and government clients flexible, on-demand, or subscription-based access to drone services such as surveying, inspection, maintenance, power washing, inventory management, and precision agriculture, without the capital costs or operational burdens of ownership.

Fueling upside, ZenaTech just completed 14 global surveying company acquisitions toward its goal of acquiring and establishing 25 DaaS locations

In addition, ZenaTech just signed an offer to acquire to a surveying firm headquartered in the Mountain West/Rocky Mountain region of the US with existing licensing to operate in multiple states. The potential acquisition enhances ZenaTech’s presence in the region and capacity to provide drone-enabled advanced land surveying as well as drone services for modern crop and livestock management, wildfire management, and land stewardship.

“Expanding our Drone as a Service footprint across the Mountain West/Rocky Mountain region through this potential acquisition will open significant opportunities to support builders and the construction industry as well as farmers, ranchers, and government with cutting-edge, technology-driven drone solutions,” said Shaun Passley, Ph.D., ZenaTech CEO. “Drones are transforming how land is managed across this region by providing powerful solutions for rangeland and livestock monitoring, precision farming, wildfire detection and response, and large-scale environmental and forestry assessment bringing unmatched efficiency, safety, and real-time insight to managing and sustaining vast and rugged landscapes.”

The potential acquisition target offers a full range of surveying services supporting boundary, topographic, land title surveys and construction projects. The firm’s leadership is licensed to operate and serve clients in multiple states, bringing regional expertise and relationships in Mountain West/Rocky Mountain jurisdictions.

Currently, ZenaTech has completed 14 global surveying company acquisitions toward its goal of acquiring and establishing 25 DaaS locations by the end of Q2, 2026.

Other related developments from around the markets include:

AIRO Group Holdings announced its active role in the MACADA (MAturity of Collaborative Avoidance Development Approach) initiative, a strategic research and development effort focused on enhancing air collision avoidance systems for electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The project is carried out as a collaboration between Thales Canada, Vertiko Mobilité Inc., and Jaunt Air Mobility Canada, an AIRO Group subsidiary dedicated to advancing safe and sustainable urban air mobility. MACADA addresses key challenges in integrating advanced aircraft into shared airspace, including connectivity, navigation planning, information sharing, and operational predictability. The initiative is designed to mature a system capable of detecting, navigating, and avoiding air conflicts, with a strong emphasis on: Energy management optimization, Realistic operational scenario simulations, Hardware prototyping, and Flight testing to validate system performance.

Red Cat Holdings CEO Jeff Thompson just said, “Our record-breaking third quarter revenue and the expansion of our contract with the U.S. Army clearly demonstrates the accelerating adoption of our specialized solutions within the defense and national security sectors. We are seeing significant returns on our focused strategy, with our products being validated by major government agencies and NATO allies and necessitating the recent 2x expansion of our drone manufacturing facilities. This expansion allows us to deliver speed and volume at scale to the Department of War and U.S. Allies through FMS (Foreign Military Sales). Also, the recent launch of our USV division, Blue Ops, and the lease of our 155,000 sq foot vessel building facility positions us to be the leader of delivering critical unmanned systems for use over land and sea.”

AeroVironment reported financial results for the fiscal second quarter ended November 1, 2025, including record second quarter revenue of $472.5 million up, 151% year-over-year; with BlueHalo contributing $245.1 million and legacy revenue of $227.4 million up 21% year-over year; bookings of $1.4 billion; Book-to-bill ratio of 2.9. “AV is operating from a position of strength as evidenced by our record second quarter results, all-time high bookings and long-term contract wins,” said Wahid Nawabi, AeroVironment chairman, president and chief executive officer. “We have built a portfolio of integrated capabilities and advanced technologies to meet the market’s accelerating demand and serve as a partner of choice in critical moments. While we are pleased with our results for the quarter, we are just getting started. We are confident that our unmatched innovation, strategic partnerships and agility to expand our manufacturing capacity enable us to address evolving defense needs and lead the generational shift in defense over the longer-term.”

Leonardo DRS Inc. signed a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense (MOD) to explore opportunities for MOD ground combat vehicles and dismounted forces in support of the country’s Vision 2030 defense modernization roadmap. The MOI was signed in Washington, D.C. following announcement of the United States of America’s Strategic Defense Agreement with Saudi Arabia. Signing for Leonardo DRS was Bill Guyan, the company’s Senior Vice President, Business Development and President, International Business. Eng. Khalid Al-Jawini, Director of Projects for Procurement for the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Defense, signed for the MOD under the oversight of H.E. Dr. Khaled bin Hussein Al-Biyari, Assistant Minister of Defense for Executive Affairs. “By signing this MOI, Leonardo DRS is reinforcing its commitment to support the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with its cutting-edge battlespace communications architecture and vehicle integration services that will deliver a more connected, protected, and combat effective land force,” Guyan said. “As a trusted provider of advanced defense technology for the U.S. military and allied militaries around the world, we are proud of the opportunity to potentially expand our relationship in supporting the efforts of Saudi Arabia to advance its national defense strategy.”

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