ZenaTech opens Mesa drone hub, scouts site for defense-drone plant
What's the deal? ZenaTechDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s subsidiary Drone as a ServiceDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has opened a sales-and-service center in Mesa, Arizona, and is now scouting East Valley sites for a separate manufacturing plant tied to trailer production and defense drones. The Mesa office, at 955 E. Javelina Avenue, holds a fleet of 15 ZenaDroneDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → aircraft and a team of certified pilots.
What does the company do? Drone as a Service, a subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed ZenaTech, sells drone-based surveying, mapping, and inspection on a subscription and on-demand model. Customers in construction, agriculture, utilities, and property management access aircraft and AI-powered data analysis without buying hardware.
Why Mesa? ZenaTech cites Arizona's construction activity and a shortage of more than 40,000 construction workers, estimated by the Arizona Chapter of the Associated General Contractors, as demand drivers. "Arizona has long been a base for ZenaTech," said chief executive officer Shaun Passley.
What's the endgame? The company wants more than 20,000 square feet for the plant, which would serve internal equipment needs and potential future US defense requirements for domestically made drones. It is projected to employ 45 people initially, with potential for hundreds of jobs as production ramps.
What could go wrong? No site or timeline has been chosen for the factory, and ZenaTech says it has viewed "quite a few locations" but settled on none. Its drones are still progressing through Blue UAS certification, and the company reports an initial government demonstration request — not a defense contract.
The signal: The push rides a fast-growing market: Precedence Research pegs US drone services at over $4 billion in 2025, projected to approach $35 billion by 2035. For now, Mesa is a concrete local expansion, while the plant's defense significance hinges on certification, contracts, and actually bringing the facility online.
Read more: focalnews.org
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
