Acquisition Expands Delair’s Reach in Defense and Civil Markets, Leveraging Grenoble’s Technological Hub to Compete Globally in Robotics and Industrial Drone Solution
by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian J. McNabb
French drone developer Delair recently announced the acquisition of Grenoble-based swarm drone developer SQUADRONE SYSTEM. SQUADRONE serves both the military market, through the TAMOS (Tactical Multi-Objectives Swarming UAVs) project of the Agence Innovation Défense (AID – Defense Innovation Agency) and the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA – French Armament General Directorate), as well as via their RapidEagle drone defense system, and the civilian market, with products designed for automated industrial inspections in warehouses or in the aircraft space. 
With 22 employees and established mass-production capability in their Grenoble facility, (producing over 600 HEXO+ UAVs per week), SQUADRONE, (who boasts partnerships with major defense companies such as Thalès and Safran Electronics & Defense to disseminate its drone swarm and anti-drone technology) is a proven asset that Delair hopes will bring it to the forefront of the French drone industry.
“While DELAIR’s Security/Defense business has been particularly dynamic over the past 2 years, our positioning is resolutely dual, with the aim of balancing our civil and military activities at mid-term. The acquisition of SQUADRONE SYSTEM enables us not only to acquire directly the technological backbone of drone swarms, but also to develop our civil industrial inspection activity”, explains Bastien Mancini, DELAIR CEO.
“The acquisition of SQUADRONE SYSTEM is perfectly aligned with our technological roadmap, which is built around 5 major technological building blocks (energy, image processing, electronic warfare, swarms and certification). The synergies generated will enable us to gain precious time in an increasingly intense European and global competitive field” added Mancini.
After opening offices in Toulouse and Marseille, this acquisition gives Delair a presence in one of France’s centers for technological development- Grenoble, home to a world-class research university and the historical center of French microelectronics. . “This industrial and territorial vision of our development will enable us, step by step, to create a European leader in robotics, based on the technological, academic and industrial specialties specific to each territory and necessary for our complex systems. This will enable us to confront global competition with great ambition,” concluded Mancini.
More information on Delair is available her. More information on SQUADRONE is available here.
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Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, Email Miriam.
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