• $13 million investment to establish new counter-drone R&D facility in Adelaide
• Facility to be led by former Lockheed Martin engineer Jeff Wojtiuk
• Expansion supports DroneShield's global growth and surging drone attack demand

DroneShield Limited (ASX:DRO), a global leader in counter-drone and electronic warfare (EW) solutions, has announced a $13 million investment to establish a new research and development (R&D) facility in Adelaide, South Australia. This investment will cover three years of operational and capital expenditure, and will initially create around 20 high-skilled engineering roles in Adelaide, focused on radiofrequency (RF) electronics, EW, and systems integration. The new facility will be led by Jeff Wojtiuk, a former Lockheed Martin Australia defence engineering leader with a strong background in RF design and electronic warfare. This expansion in South Australia complements DroneShield's existing engineering operations in Sydney and supports the company's continued growth in advanced RF electronics and EW capabilities. Adelaide was chosen due to its proximity to leading global defence and aerospace organizations, a highly skilled engineering workforce, and established infrastructure supporting advanced technology development, particularly in EW and RF systems. The announcement comes as DroneShield reaches a significant company milestone, surpassing 400 employees globally, nearly doubling its team in the past year and more than quadrupling it over the last two years. Approximately 300 of these employees are software and hardware engineers, reinforcing DroneShield's position as a world-leading technology company focused on delivering advanced defence capabilities.

DroneShield is going through an expansion of its annual production capacity from $500m to $2.4bn by end of 2026, including setting up European and US manufacturing, as well as R&D expansion in the US. The dollar amount of expected sales associated with the new Adelaide R&D facility cannot be quantified at this time, but is expected to be material over time as the demand for counter-drone solutions rises.

The new Adelaide R&D facility is a strategic move that supports DroneShield's mission to deliver world-leading counter-drone and electronic warfare solutions, and is critical to accelerating the development of its next-generation technologies while expanding its engineering footprint and supporting critical project development for global customers.