Why has the DroneShield share price rocketed 69% in a month?

The defence technology business has been on a tear following some big government contract wins.

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Key points

  • The DroneShield share price is up 17% despite no news from the company today
  • The company has won two government contracts each worth $11 million over the past two months 
  • DroneShield's products are being used by the Ukrainian Army to prevent artillery strikes from Russia 

The DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO) share price is heading skywards today, up 17% despite no news from the company.

The defence tech business has been on a tear of late, with its shares up 69.44% over the past four weeks.

The DroneShield share price is currently trading at 31 cents.

So, what’s been sending DroneShield shares northwards lately?

Why is the DroneShield share price shooting the lights out?

DroneShield has got great momentum at the moment following a series of positive announcements.

The latest big news is an $11 million government contract announced on 9 January.

This follows another $11 million government contract awarded in December, which was described by CEO Oleg Vornik as a “transformational next step in DroneShield’s growth”. 

Other wins in 1H FY23 included a $2 million European order and a $1.8 million order from the United States Department of Defense.

In November, DroneShield was named Australia’s 37th fastest-growing company of 2022 in the 2022 AFR Fast 100 list.

Last we heard, DroneShield had a $50 million pipeline of sales for the December 2022 quarter. It was projecting a $180 million pipeline for 2023 and beyond.

DroneShield’s amazing growth story

As reported by abc.net.au today, DroneShield has an incredible story to tell about its rapid growth since its crowdfunded beginnings in 2014.

What was initially intended to be a company providing privacy services for celebrities and hotels needing paparazzi drones detected and shooed away, DroneShield has now evolved into a significant defence technology organisation.

The unprecedented use of drones in the Ukrainian war has really amped things up for DroneShield.

Their ‘drone guns’ — which shoot a scrambling radiofrequency into the air to disable enemy drones — have proven invaluable to Ukrainian soldiers in preventing artillery strikes from Russia.

Prior to this, airports began buying DroneShield’s products after the 2018 Gatwick Airport incident, when unconfirmed sightings of unidentified drones closed the airport and grounded hundreds of flights for two days.

Other customers include prisons seeking to prevent contraband from being dropped into yards.

DroneShield share price snapshot

DroneShield shares are up 60.5% over the past 12 months. Since listing in 2016, they are up 32.6%.

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended DroneShield. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended DroneShield. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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