Founded in 2010, EagleNXT started in Wichita, Kansas, as AgEagle Aerial Systems. It manufactures drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles for multiple industries, including defense and agriculture. Wichita, also the home of Textron Aviation and Spirit AeroSystems, is known as the Air Capital of the World, but Texas has been tempting technology companies for years now.
EagleNXT announced its move to Texas in January.
“Relocating our headquarters to Allen, Texas, is a strategic decision to harness the exceptional talent and abundant opportunities available in this economically vibrant part of the country,” said EagleNXT CEO Bill Irby in the January announcement.
In that announcement, EagleNXT noted Allen would serve as “the central hub” for the company, complementing a second facility in Switzerland. The company planned to open the facility in April. In its first-quarter update to shareholders on May 15, EagleNXT revealed the Allen facility was now open and would be fully operational by the end of the month.
The Allen facility will be home to, among other things, the production of ThirdEye USA counter-drone systems, which track unmanned crafts. ThirdEye is out of Israel; EagleNXT announced in April a $10 million investment into ThirdEye, which handed EagleNXT a 51 percent controlling interest in the company. One month before that, EagleNXT struck a deal with Israeli loitering munitions developer Aerodome Group, Ltd. Loitering munitions are self-destructing drones.