New South Wales-based drone producer Carbonix is set to triple its production over the next year, signing a A$2.34 million contract with Australia’s largest independent aerospace composite manufacturer, Quickstep.
Quickstep, which invested $1 million in Carbonix in 2021, will produce 40 of Carbonix’s latest long-range unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) using its proprietary AeroQure manufacturing system.
Carbonix CEO Philip van der Burg said the deal represented stage two of a broader manufacturing partnership, announced late last year, which would eventually see Quickstep manufacture all Carbonix drones.
Quickstep began manufacturing Volantis, Carbonix’s smallest all-electric fixed-wing VTOL UAV (vertical take-off and landing uncrewed aerial vehicle) earlier in the year, allowing Carbonix to fulfill an order from US defence contractor, Anduril.
van der Burg said the company had a “handful” of mining clients trialling its long-range aerial data collection systems as part of its partnership success program, implemented at the end of last year.
“We’ve had significant interest in partner companies looking to utilise it as part of their own adoption roadmap,” he said.
“We are happy with traction that we’re getting and are looking to sign-up more partners in the next couple of months.”
van der Burg said he expected to hire at least two more employees this year to add to its existing 27 staff.
