DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO) shares are flying higher today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) drone defence company – which only recently joined the ASX 200 on 22 September – closed on Friday trading for $3.22. In morning trade on Monday, shares are changing hands for $3.38 apiece, up 5%.
For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.3% at this same time.
Here's what's capturing investor interest today.
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DroneShield shares leap on new US contracts
Investors are bidding up DroneShield shares today after the company announced that it has inked three new deals with the United States government to supply handheld counterdrone systems.
The combined deals are worth a total of $7.6 million.
The company expects to deliver all of the equipment in the current quarter (Q4 2025). And it expects to be paid either this quarter or in the first quarter of 2026.
The company noted that due to its "substantial revenue growth" in 2025, the announcement threshold for received orders will increase from the current $5 million to $20 million commencing in 2026.
DroneShield said it is continuing to execute on production expansion from $500 million a year to $2.4 billion a year by the end of 2026.
What did management say?
Commenting on the latest US government order helping boost DroneShield shares today, CEO Oleg Vornik said:
In addition to the larger orders, such as the $62 million European order received in June and fully delivered since, smaller frequent orders such as this one play an important role in ensuring the steady flow of the business, ongoing market fulfilment with our solutions, as well as building trust and laying ground for the larger orders in our sales pipeline.
Vornik noted the company's pipeline includes "multiple opportunities" that are each valued at more than $100 million. He said that included an $800 million opportunity, the company's largest, that it's currently working on with its customers.
Highlighting DroneShield's rapid growth, Vornik concluded:
For 2025 year to date, DroneShield has received 78 Purchase Orders with a median size order of approximately $400,000. This compared to 66 orders for all of 2024, with the median order value of $200,000 – showing a diverse business continuing to grow across all metrics.
DroneShield share price snapshot
There have certainly been some big moves, both higher and lower, for the ASX 200 drone defence stock this year.
Meaning that, depending on when you bought DroneShield shares, you could be sitting on some outsized gains today or still nursing some hefty losses.
Investors who bought on 18 February, for example, will be up 463% today.
But investors who bought at the all-time share price highs on 9 October will still be down 49%.
Taking a step back, DroneShield shares have gained a remarkable 1,777% over five years.
