ZenaTech responds to new U.S. military drone policy, allowing direct purchases of its Group 1 and 2 drones for operations.
Quiver AI Summary
ZenaTech, Inc. has welcomed the new U.S. military policy directive announced on July 10, 2025, by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, which classifies its ZenaDrone drones as Group 1-2 expendable assets. This allows field commanders to purchase the drones directly for training and real missions without needing traditional UAS certification. The directive aims to streamline acquisition processes, enhance innovation, and enable rapid deployment of low-cost drones in various military operations. ZenaTech's CEO, Shaun Passley, emphasized that this change is transformative for the drone industry, as it permits frontline operators to access advanced drone solutions more readily. The company is poised to accelerate its manufacturing and defense efforts to meet the heightened demand following this policy shift.
Potential Positives
- ZenaTech's entire portfolio of ZenaDrone drones is now classified as expendable assets, allowing for direct purchases by field commanders without the need for traditional UAS certification, significantly streamlining procurement processes.
- The new policy directive supports rapid field acquisition and deployment of ZenaTech's drones, enhancing operational efficiency and enabling frontline units to respond swiftly to mission requirements.
- ZenaTech anticipates accelerated demand for its innovative drone solutions, prompting the company to ramp up manufacturing and defense business development efforts, which could lead to increased revenue growth.
- The directive encourages the use of prototypes and commercial off-the-shelf systems, fostering innovation in the company’s product offerings and positioning ZenaTech as a key player in the evolving drone technology landscape.
Potential Negatives
- Classifying drones as expendable commodities may lead to concerns about reliability and long-term value for military clients.
- The rapid acquisition policy may raise potential quality control issues as frontline commanders bypass standard procurement processes.
- By streamlining the purchasing process, there may be increased competition from other drone manufacturers, potentially impacting ZenaTech's market position.
FAQ
What is ZenaTech's reaction to the new military drone policy?
ZenaTech supports the new policy allowing U.S. military commanders to directly purchase their Group 1-2 drones without certification.
How does the new policy impact drone procurement?
The policy streamlines drone acquisition for frontline units, reducing bureaucratic delays and encouraging innovative solutions for military use.
What types of drones does ZenaTech offer?
ZenaTech's drone portfolio includes the ZenaDrone 1000, IQ Square, and IQ Nano, each designed for various operational needs.
What is Drone as a Service (DaaS) offered by ZenaTech?
DaaS simplifies procurement and deployment, providing flexible, scalable AI-powered drone solutions tailored for defense and government agencies.
When will the U.S. military fully integrate small UAS?
Full integration of small UAS is expected by 2027 across major training events within the Department of Defense.
Disclaimer: This is an AI-generated summary of a press release distributed by GlobeNewswire. The model used to summarize this release may make mistakes. See the full release here.
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Full Release
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 11, 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 reacts to the July 10, 2025 new
policy directive
from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, ‘
Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance
.’ ZenaTech confirms that under this policy directive, its entire portfolio of ZenaDrone drones qualify as Group 1–2 expendable assets and are now enabled for direct purchases by field commanders for both training and real-world missions, and they no longer need Green or Blue UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) certification.
The policy directive, in which he called drones “the biggest battlefield innovation in a generation,” mandates the rapid acquisition, deployment, and operational use of small, low-cost Group 1 and 2 drones. The directive now treats them as expendable commodities rather than durable assets, which the Company anticipates will streamline bureaucracy, encourage innovation including the use of prototypes and commercial off-the-shelf systems, to ensure the US military can outpace adversaries by rapidly scaling drone capabilities on the battlefield. This memo also marks a paradigm shift, placing battlefield acquisition authority in the hands of frontline commanders, not procurement offices.
“The new policy directive is a game-changer for our company and the entire small drone industry. By removing traditional UAS certification barriers for Group 1 and 2 drones, it empowers us to deliver our cutting-edge and affordable solutions directly to frontline operators, accelerating innovation and battlefield impact like never before,” said ZenaTech CEO Shaun Passley. “This means field commanders can buy our rugged, mission flexible drones directly for training, exercises, real-world missions, or even prototypes. We are now accelerating our manufacturing and defense business development efforts to meet the urgent demand and help the US military maintain its drone dominance.”
Key Implications
:
Rapid Field Acquisition – ZenaDrone bypasses bureaucratic delays, available immediately to frontline units.
Prototype-Friendly Deployment – Early-stage versions can be purchased and tested in operational contexts.
Consumable Classification – Group 1 and 2 drones are now treated like expendable commodities rather than durable assets therefore inexpensive, replaceable, and low administrative burden.
Multi-Mission Utility – Ready for ISR (Inspection, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) missions, counter-drone roles, and more.
Timelines from the Memo:
By Sept 1: Each service branch to build “experimental formations” tailored to small UAS.
By end of FY 2026: All squads equipped with low-cost, expendable drones.
By 2027: Full integration of UAS into major training events across the Department of Defense.
The company’s portfolio of defense drone offerings include:
The
ZenaDrone 1000
, a medium-sized VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) capable of lifting ~40 kg with AI-enabled autonomy, secure communications via its proprietary DroneNet system, and rugged construction. Designed for ISR- inspection, surveillance, and reconnaissance applications, it has undergone paid trials with both the US Air Force and Navy Reserve for critical cargo delivery (e.g., blood).
The
IQ Square
, a VTOL drone (starting size 40”×40”) engineered for line-of-sight land surveys, infrastructure inspections, and defense reconnaissance tasks.
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 AI-driven drone swarms or fleets.
Drone as a Service (DaaS)
offering will be tailored specifically for US defense and government agency use. The DaaS model accelerates government adoption by simplifying procurement and deployment, giving defense customers flexible, scalable, AI-powered drone solutions aligned with evolving mission needs.
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, health, government, and industrial sectors, and drones being implemented in these plus agriculture, defense, and logistics sectors, ZenaTech’s portfolio of solutions helps drive exceptional operational efficiencies, accuracy, and cost savings. The Company operates through seven global offices in North America, Europe, Taiwan, and UAE, and is growing a DaaS business model and global partner network.
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, tracking, 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 indoor/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 its 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.
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