Pyka Expands into Defense Sector with DropShip UAS Platform

Long-Range, Heavy-Lift UAS Delivers 3,500-Mile Range, Precision Airdrop, and Modular Mission Systems

Pyka, a leading robotics company pioneering mission-ready autonomous aircraft, today announced DropShip, a next-generation unmanned aerial system (UAS). Building on Pyka’s commercial success in agriculture and logistics, DropShipenters the defense sector with unmatched mission flexibility across logistics and humanitarian missions.

A Multi-Mission Aircraft for a New Era

DropShip is engineered for missions that demand long-range, heavy-lift capability, with modular payload configurations and precision airdrop at its core. With a ferry range of more than 3,500 miles, a payload capacity of up to 550 pounds, and a precision airdrop system that can deliver supplies within 150 feet of target, DropShip provides a reliable way to get critical material into austere or contested environments. It supports both theater-scale operations and tactical resupply. It can fly up to 45 minutes in all-electric, low-signature mode for covert or noise-sensitive missions and is designed for rapid deployment—going from a standard 20-foot shipping container to flight-ready in under an hour and executing flight missions with a single operator. Together, these capabilities establish a new benchmark for long-range, multi-mission UAS performance.

“DropShip answers the urgent demand for a flexible, attritable platform that can extend logistics, ISR, and communications deep into contested or difficult to reach environments at a fraction of the cost of exquisite assets,” said Michael Norcia, CEO of Pyka.  “We see this as a critical step in expanding Pyka’s proven commercial technology into defense and humanitarian missions where adaptability and affordability matter most.”

Modular Mission Systems

DropShip’s reconfigurable mission system capabilities include precision airdrop, ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) sensors, waveform-agnostic communications suites, mothership support for small unmanned ISR or comms vehicles, and expeditionary power supply. All of these are enabled by an open-architecture secondary mission computer that supports rapid, plug-and-play integration.

Expanding Pyka’s Opportunity

DropShip builds on Pyka’s proven autonomy stack and the success of Pelican 2, its flagship crop-protection UAS. Pelican 2 has flown more than 8,500 missions and stands as the largest UAS certified for commercial use by the FAA. With DropShip, Pyka extends that track record into defense, logistics, and humanitarian response, providing a single platform that can take on missions once out of reach for autonomous aircraft. 

The aircraft’s inaugural flight is scheduled for early 2026.

About Pyka:

Pyka is a robotics company on a mission to build the most useful autonomous aircraft on Earth. At the core of every Pyka aircraft is a vertically integrated aircraft-first robotics stack: proprietary flight control software, avionics, high-power density electric motors, motor controllers, batteries, and carbon fiber composite airframes, developed entirely in-house and manufactured in the United States of America.