Aevex has been awarded a $50 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to expand its current unmanned mission-support capabilities.

The drone maker, which is owned by private-equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners, on Tuesday said the award will help to advance its production of a long-range, precision strike platform.

The award includes $27 million in initial funding.

Shares rose 12%, to $20.16, in premarket trading. The company's initial public offering in April was priced at $20.

The platform will be purpose-built for extended-range missions in contested and GPS-denied environments, delivering high-payload capacity, rapid reconfiguration and seamless payload integration, Aevex said.

Performance will be executed across Aevex's engineering, integration and production facilities across the U.S., the company added.

"This award underscores the confidence our customers place in Aevex to provide affordable, rapidly deployable capabilities that enhance current mission readiness," Chief Executive Roger Wells said.

Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 30, 2026 06:33 ET (10:33 GMT)

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