BusinessTuesday, November 3
Oshkosh Defense and Grid Aero team up to build military drones at scale
The Good Day Oshkosh team
If you follow Oshkosh Corp., this one's new. Oshkosh Defense and Silicon Valley startup Grid Aero announced a partnership Monday to build the Lifter, a large autonomous drone. Defense News reports it would be the first aircraft Oshkosh produces. "We do things that like gravity and stay on the ground," Logan Jones, Oshkosh's chief growth officer, told Defense News, but he called this "a very nice fit for us."
Grid Aero launched in 2024 and now pairs with a company of 19,000-plus
- 1,320 pounds
- the weight Group 4 and 5 drones top
- 2024
- the year Grid Aero was founded
- 19,000+
- team members at Oshkosh Corp. worldwide
Sources: Oshkosh Defense, Defense News
Jones told the Washington Examiner that Oshkosh will try the Lifter on its current production lines and draw up a "pilot factory layout" with a dedicated line. That would "allow us to build many hundreds of these a month," he said.
- Aircraft: Lifter, piston-powered, built from "ubiquitous materials"
- Class: Group 4 or 5 unmanned aircraft
- First work: production engineering, design for manufacturing, customer engagement
- Plan: thousands of Lifters for defense and commercial customers
Each company brings a different piece to the Lifter
| Topic | Oshkosh Defense | Grid Aero |
|---|---|---|
| Based in | Oshkosh, Wis. | Silicon Valley |
| Brings | Manufacturing at scale | Lifter aircraft design |
| Job | Production planning, supply chain | Autonomous modular payload aircraft |
Sources: Oshkosh Defense, Defense News
Sources: Oshkosh Defense, Defense News, Washington Examiner