Portuguese company Beyond Vision wins drone contract and builds €50 million factory in the US

Beyond Vision has signed a €15 million contract in the US to supply 300 emergency drones by 2028. The Portuguese company also plans to open a factory in the US in two years’ time, with an investment of €50 million. After turning over €2.4 million in 2024, the drone manufacturer estimates it will close this year with a turnover of €20 million, and also forecasts an increase in staff from the current 80 to 800 employees by 2035.

“The contract aims to meet a US need for an immediate response in an emergency situation”, says Pedro Figueiredo, sales director at Beyond Vision, speaking to ECO, pointing out that “an ambulance takes 20-30 minutes to arrive at the scene, while a drone takes a maximum of five minutes”.

With this equipment, the US “can determine whether it is necessary to send three or four more ambulances”, depending on the severity of the situation, explains Pedro Figueiredo. In short: Beyond Vision’s drones “save time and save lives”.

With a range of 40 minutes, daylight and thermal cameras and a load capacity of 1.5 kilograms, the drones will be housed in a box (dock station), which serves as a charging point and, in an emergency, the box opens and the drone is ready to fly.

The first 50 devices will be delivered next year, 100 in 2027 and 150 in 2028. “This is a minimum contract, because the 300 could become 1,000, depending on the response and proof of concept that will be carried out during this period”, said the spokesperson for the Portuguese drone manufacturer, on the sidelines of the 7th edition of the International Innovation Barometer 2026, presented on Tuesday at Casa da Música in Porto.

The first 300 devices will be produced in Portugal, but the idea is that the next ones will be produced in the US. “Beyond Vision will open a factory in the United States in 2027 to continue supplying this equipment”, which represents an investment of approximately €50 million, Pedro Figueiredo reveals to ECO, assuring that “companies are not afraid to invest”.

Founded in 2013 by Dário Pedro and Luís Miguel Campos, Beyond Vision employs 76 people in its Lisbon and Porto offices, but plans to hire another 25 by the end of the year, mainly in areas such as aerospace, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering. By 2035, it expects to reach 800 employees.

Beyond Vision exports 95% of its production mainly to the US, the Middle East, Brazil and Europe. The Portuguese start-up’s customers include the Portuguese Navy and Army, Space42 in the Middle East and the French and German police forces. It will soon be supplying 60 pieces of equipment to Ukraine and is in the process of qualifying for the Japanese coastguard.