PDW finds space to be disruptive in Huntsville
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The next goal for PDW is a drone for every warfighter. Photo: Courtesy of Performance Drone Works
Defense is changing as fast as the technology that supports it, and Huntsville companies like Performance Drone Works are shaping its future.
Why it matters: A Huntsville relocation is helping PDW marry aerospace innovation to startup culture in a bid to transform the military drone market.
- The company moved into a space at Stovehouse in 2020, and recently relocated into a much larger, 90,000-square-foot facility on Diamond Drive.
- CEO and co-founder Ryan Gury tells Axios Huntsville that the city's capable and educated talent pool, military connections and quality of life have supported its growth and embraced its employees.
What they're saying: "This city is disruptive, and it's an area of invention and culturally, it just felt like home for us," says 42-year-old Gury.
- In some ways, it was a surprise: "There's a ton of diversity here ... you get both sides of the aisle everywhere," and he says generally, folks in Huntsville "believe in America and the future of America."
- That's key to PDW's next big goal of equipping every American warfighter with an affordable drone.
The big picture: With a target price of $5,000 for the end user, PDW's in-development drone aims to compete alongside other systems like the Javelin, which run in the six-figures.
- Gury points to Eastern Europe as an example of what's possible, saying commercial technologies are shaping a new era on the battlefield: "Ukrainians are defending their motherland with parts from Amazon."
- The company's eyeing the first implementations of technologies like mothership drones capable of resupply drops and marsupial drones that drop other drones.
- Another, Gury notes, is a weapon that "goes together like an IKEA kit and competes against weapon systems that are 100 times more expensive."
"We're not just making another version, or a different feature or an add-on, we're inventing brand new categories that shape America's future," Gury said. "It's just an awesome calling card to attract new talent."
Flashback: Gury got started in the industry developing robotics to support the Drone Racing League, a televised competitive race where high-speed drones navigate 3D courses at nearly 100 mph.
- PDW, named to Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in robotics and engineering for 2025, was founded in 2018 before its 2020 move to Huntsville.
Zoom in: The city offers strategic advantages PDW couldn't find elsewhere, Gury says, including a legacy of military impact and simple elbow room.
- "If you're going to grow in defense tech, you're basically underwriting the future of military doctrine and there is an ethical and moral obligation to get that right," he said. "In Huntsville, there is a culture that understands the importance and the value of doing a great job that the coasts really don't share."
- PDW was able to log more than 3,000 hours of flight time in the last 18 months, something that would require a trip to the desert from Los Angeles or Silicon Valley, and space away from airports in the Northeast.
The bottom line: "We're delivering the coolest sh*t in the room, and we're doing it for a good reason," he said. "I think a lot of people are excited about the future of companies like ours."