A new defense technology and manufacturing company has been officially welcomed into Hoke County. Leadership and staff of DRACOE hosted a grand opening ceremony for their new facility located off of Highway 15/50 close to Aberdeen, N.C. on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
The Veteran-owned company specializes in the design, manufacturing and integration of unmanned systems and critical components.
DRACOE offers services in contract manufacturing, engineering services and tactical training. Its featured systems include the SPEAR C-UAS Training & Evaluation Ecosystem, delivering realistic, repeatable and cost-effective C-UAS training at an operational scale.
“Drone warfare is a new way of war, a way of war we must embrace at the tactical level, but at the defense industrial base level too. In this facility, we will integrate production, research and development and training, all in one environment. This will enable us to go fast, faster to scale, from concept to capability deployment,” shared DRACOE CEO and Co-founder Nik Dunne.
The new facility has created 67 local jobs and aims to grow to 150 by the end of 2027; plans are also in place to continue to grow the facility. DRACOE has partnered with Sandhills Community College to offer pre-employment training for open positions such as mechanical assembly technician and electrical assembly technician with pay starting at $20 an hour.
“And when I talk to scale, I do not mean in the hundreds; I do not mean in the thousands; I mean in the millions. In this facility, by 2028, over three factories, we will push production rates into the millions. The type of scale, the type of mass we need as a nation to adopt drone warfare as a way of war. The Department of War understands the scale of this challenge. DRACOE intends to be a very, very small part of the solution,” concluded Dunne.
DRACOE shared they are looking to collaborate with local organizations to support education and industry.
“One of my favorite things about working with the chamber is seeing the incredible variety of businesses that we have in our community, and I have to say it's not every day that we get to celebrate a company involved in drone technology,” said Stephanie Hendrix, executive director of the Raeford-Hoke Chamber of Commerce. “DRACOE manufacturing represents an exciting opportunity for our area. Innovation, technology and manufacturing are shaping the future, and we are thrilled to see that happening right here in Hoke County.”
The company is still hiring. More information can be found on their website here and their Facebook page here.
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