Quickstep announces new drone orders, will expand drone manufacturing

Advanced composites manufacturer Quickstep has secured new orders and collaborations with drone customers, spurring a major expansion of its Drone Aerostructures and Payloads business.

The company said it had received a follow-on order for 20 Volanti aircraft from drone company Carbonix following its delivery of an order for 40 Volanti’s worth $1.35 million in June.

The new order for the 3.6m VTOL Power Lift drone which carries out rapid aerial survey of infrastructure such as electrical transmission lines is valued at approximately $430,000.

Quickstep told investors this morning: “Reflecting strong customer interest, a foreign military customer has also requested overseas trials of the Volanti aircraft in its current build configuration.”

The company has also secured a follow-on contract valued at $300,000 for drone engineering design services with TB2 Aerospace LLC, following on from a $500,000 contract.

Quickstep’s shares jumped 16.66 percent on the ASX to 17.5 cents on the announcement.

As @AuManufacturing reported earlier this month, Quickstep has now delivered 100 drones for customers from its drone manufacturing facility at Geelong in Victoria.

Quickstep said: “Following the recent delivery of the 100th series production drone from its Geelong facility, Quickstep anticipates continued expansion in both the drone aerostructures and payloads business into FY25.

“This growth is driven by ongoing demand for Quickstep’s engineering services and its proven track record of delivering high-quality aerospace solutions.”

In other developments Quickstep revealed the finalisation of a $925,000 space grant from the Commonwealth Department of Science, Industry & Resources (DSIR) under the Moon to Mars initiative. This grant is part of a broader $1.3 million development programme aimed at enhancing Quickstep’s capabilities in the space segment.

“The DSIR grant will facilitate the acquisition of a large-scale CNC router/3D printer for rapid prototyping and low-rate initial production of complex composite structures.

“This equipment will support AeroQure high-rate production tooling for emerging space applications and drones, as well as the in-house manufacture of production tooling across all program areas.”

AeroQure is Quicketep’s proprietary fast cuire process which slashed production times for carbon fibre production parts.

“The new equipment will be installed at Quickstep’s expanded engineering and production facility in Geelong.

“Additionally, the company is moving into newly leased premises at the same location, tripling its production floor space to accommodate increased production volumes and meet growing demand.”

Further reading:
Quickstep delivers its 100th drone aircraft
Carbonix drones fly ‘out of sight’ to survey power network

Picture: Quickstep