Ukrainian drone maker will open a manufacturing plant in North Carolina

• The 82nd Airborne, which is headquartered at Fort Bragg, has also been experimenting heavily with drones, Axios previously reported.

Driving the news: North Carolina awarded a performance-based grant of $500,000 from the One North Carolina Fund to help the drone company Skyeton expand in the state.

• The average salary for the new positions will be $70,759, according to the Commerce Department, which is more than Cumberland County's average of $49,382.

Zoom in: North Carolina has made the defense industry one of its priorities for corporate recruitment in recent years.

• The state views its workforce and large concentration of military personnel as making the state attractive to that industry.
• Skyeton is known for its flagship Raybird drone, which is known for long-distance intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.

What they're saying: "We're proud to welcome Skyeton to a state with such a proud military tradition and advanced manufacturing base," Gov. Josh Stein said in a statement. "By combining our manufacturing workforce, the skillsets of our transitioning military personnel, a central East Coast location, and a strategic transportation infrastructure, North Carolina continues to rise to the top ranks as the best place to do business, especially in the aerospace and defense sectors."