Croatian drone company taps Remote Robotic Systems for its second North American production hub

Croatian drone manufacturer Orqa and Remote Robotic Systems (RRS) have signed an exclusive partnership valued by the companies at an estimated $150 million CAD over five years to manufacture drone, artificial intelligence and counter UAS systems in Canada.

Orqa co-founder and chief commercial officer Ivan Jelusic and RRS CEO Kevin Toderel signed the agreement in Toronto on June 30, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković in attendance.

The partnership begins with a $20 million investment to expand RRS production facilities.

The companies expect to reach production of 1,000 systems per month by mid 2027, with a longer term target of 10,000 systems per month over the course of the agreement. They also expect the partnership to create up to 100 technology jobs in Ottawa and Toronto by the fourth quarter of 2027.

The announcement does not identify how the $150 million estimate was calculated or provide a breakdown of the initial investment.

Formerly known as RMUS Canada, RRS supplies drone systems to the Canadian Armed Forces, major public safety agencies and industrial operators. It manufactures domestically developed platforms from facilities in Ottawa and Mississauga, including the Wingman Co-Pilot and Arctic Falcon.

Orqa designs and manufactures first person view and uncrewed aerial systems in Croatia. The company says all key components are produced in the European Union, giving it control over the hardware and software supply chain.

The Financial Times ranked Orqa 135th overall and second in aerospace and defence in its 2026 list of Europe's 1,000 fastest growing companies.

The partnership covers four areas:

Orqa will transfer relevant technology and grant production licences to support manufacturing in Canada.

The companies will jointly develop uncrewed and counter drone systems for the Canadian Armed Forces, first responders and NATO allies.

RRS will work with Orqa to integrate its Canadian developed AI capabilities into jointly manufactured platforms.

RRS facilities will become Orqa's second North American manufacturing hub and its primary export base for the broader continental defence and commercial markets.

The agreement represents the first deployment of Orqa's Defense Transformation Platform, which the company developed to help countries establish domestic drone production and supporting technology ecosystems.

The companies linked the agreement to Canada's participation in the European Union's Security Action for Europe initiative. According to the release, Canada is the first non European country to participate in SAFE, which is intended to expand European defence production and encourage joint procurement.

The Orqa RRS model also fits Ottawa's new industrial policy. Canada's Defence Industrial Strategy identifies uncrewed and autonomous systems as a sovereign capability and prioritizes technology transfer, Canadian intellectual property and domestic production when Canada partners with foreign suppliers.

Rather than shipping completed systems into Canada, Orqa plans to license production, transfer relevant technology and use RRS as a continental manufacturing and export base. Whether the partnership reaches its stated production and investment targets will determine how significant that model becomes.