Pentagon Accelerates Unmanned Platform Deployment with $8 Billion Budget Approval
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Dec 19 2025
0mins
Source: Newsfilter
- Budget Increase: Congress approved an $8 billion defense budget, allocating $1.5 billion specifically for artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, indicating a strong commitment to unmanned platforms that is expected to drive growth for related companies.
- Market Outlook: The military unmanned systems market is projected to reach $76.05 billion by 2035, with a 10.5% annual growth rate, providing significant market opportunities for defense contractors.
- Technology Integration: VisionWave Holdings signed a letter of intent with Evie Autonomous to explore a £500,000 Proof-of-Concept program aimed at integrating autonomous vehicle technology into its Unmanned Ground Vehicle platforms, anticipated to commence in 2026.
- Acquisition Strategy: VisionWave completed the acquisition of Solar Drone Ltd., involving 1.8 million shares of common stock, which will enhance its competitiveness in both defense and solar operations markets, supporting its multi-domain autonomy strategy.
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Analyst Views on DRS
Wall Street analysts forecast DRS stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for DRS is 47.33 USD with a low forecast of 40.00 USD and a high forecast of 54.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
6 Analyst Rating
4 Buy
2 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 42.470
Low
40.00
Averages
47.33
High
54.00
Current: 42.470
Low
40.00
Averages
47.33
High
54.00
About DRS
Leonardo DRS, Inc. is a provider of advanced defense technology to the United States national security customers and allies around the world. It specializes in the design, development and manufacture of advanced sensing, network computing, force protection, and electric power and propulsion, and other mission-critical technologies. It is a provider of defense products and technologies that are used across land, air, sea, space, and cyber domains. Its segments include Advanced Sensing and Computing (ASC) and Integrated Mission Systems (IMS). The ASC segment designs, develops, and manufactures sensing and network computing technology that enables real-time situational awareness required for operational decision making and execution by its customers. The IMS segment designs, develops, manufactures, and integrates power conversion, control and distribution systems, ship propulsion systems, motors and variable frequency drives, force protection systems, transportation and logistics systems.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
VisionWave Holdings Strategic Expansion and Technology Integration
- Defense Budget Surge: The Pentagon's 2026 budget authorization reaches $900.6 billion, prompting a comprehensive overhaul of electronic warfare and sensing technologies to address the complexities of modern threats, with the electronic warfare market projected to hit $20.01 billion this year, highlighting the urgent demand for AI signal processing.
- Strategic Transaction: VisionWave Holdings has entered into a strategic exchange agreement valued at $7 million with SaverOne 2014 Ltd., aiming to acquire approximately 51% of the company, which will integrate VisionWave's RF sensing and AI analytics into SaverOne's VRU platform to enhance concealed threat detection capabilities.
- Technology Acquisition and Integration: VisionWave recently acquired the qSpeed computational acceleration engine, valued at $99.6 million, designed to reduce decision latency between threat detection and response execution from minutes to seconds, with a commercially deployable solution expected to be demonstrated in 2026, further enhancing its market competitiveness.
- Southern Europe Market Expansion: VisionWave, through its subsidiary Solar Drone Ltd., has secured follow-on hardware orders and distribution agreements in Italy and Spain, planning to invest up to $10 million over the next 6 to 12 months to accelerate commercialization timelines and meet the demands of the infrastructure maintenance market.
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VisionWave Holdings Strategic Expansion and Technology Integration
- Defense Budget Surge: The 2026 U.S. defense budget reaches $900.6 billion, propelling the electronic warfare market to an expected $20.01 billion, highlighting a critical demand for AI signal processing technologies and creating significant market opportunities for companies like VisionWave Holdings.
- Strategic Transaction: VisionWave has entered into a strategic exchange agreement valued at $7 million with SaverOne, aiming to acquire approximately 51% of the company, which will integrate VisionWave's RF sensing and AI analytics into SaverOne's VRU platform to enhance concealed threat detection capabilities.
- Technology Acquisition and Integration: VisionWave's acquisition of the qSpeed computational acceleration engine, valued at $99.6 million, is expected to reduce decision latency from minutes to seconds, enhancing the responsiveness of its WaveStrike fire control systems and Argus counter-drone technology, thereby strengthening its competitive position in the market.
- Southern Europe Market Expansion: Through its subsidiary Solar Drone Ltd., VisionWave has secured follow-on hardware orders in Italy and Spain, planning to invest up to $10 million over the next 6 to 12 months to accelerate commercialization timelines, further solidifying its position in the critical infrastructure maintenance market.
Continue Reading