With worries about drone attacks growing, a San Antonio company is at the forefront of the military’s scramble to develop the technologies and defenses against them.
The Pentagon has awarded drone maker Darkhive Inc. a nearly $50 million contract as it works to speed up the buying process and fielding of new weapons systems.
It’s the latest win for the veteran-led company that’s developing software and small drones for the military out of its facility in the Lone Star neighborhood on San Antonio’s South Side.
Founder and CEO John Goodson, who launched Darkhive out of a garage in 2021, called the award “a significant milestone” in the firm’s ability to grow and deliver its products across the military.
Darkhive’s deal appears to be for the Army’s “Real-Time Command and Control at the Tactical Edge” program. The concept has to do with giving troops in the field the ability to operate autonomous drones and gain situational awareness without depending on a distant command center or connectivity to communications or navigation signals.
“Many of us here at Darkhive are combat veterans, and we understand the urgency to advance compute and connectivity at the tactical edge,” Goodson said. “It is a privilege to be trusted by operators in the field and our partners at the Pentagon to deliver these solutions.”
Before this deal, Darkhive had received about $14 million in federal small-business contracts. It’s also prequalified on a Pentagon deal that could be worth up to $100 million depending on future purchase orders. And it holds at least two other government contracts with undisclosed values.
In 2024, it got a $21 million infusion from Ten Eleven Ventures, a cybersecurity-focused investment firm.
Darkhive’s business has expanded from primarily small drones and associated software to a suite of products that includes operator interfaces, tools to update software and infrastructure that’s resistant to jamming or similar threats.
Its offerings include the Yellowjacket, an 8-inch square drone for indoor or outdoor uses; Broodbox, a mobile application to operate Yellowjacket; Obelisk, a larger drone that’s nearly 4 feet wide when extended; Redqueen, a mobile application that lets operators use voice commands to control drones; and Fleetforge, a software platform.
The firm is connected with another venture, BotsUnlimited, which manufactures drone components and other electronics. Federal laws restrict such components from countries like China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, so there’s a growing need for domestically made parts.
The latest deal comes from the division led by the under secretary of defense for research and engineering, which oversees the APFIT program. Former Silicon Valley executive and Uber Chief Business Officer Emil Michael currently holds that position.