Unveiled: The enigmatic phantom drones of the Ukraine conflict
Veil of Mystery Surrounds Phoenix Ghost Drones, Manufacturer Aevex, in the Spotlight
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Unveiled: The enigmatic phantom drones of the Ukraine conflict
the Tampa facility in Florida, where Aevex Aerospace manufactures its Phoenix Ghost drones for Ukraine, is shrouded in the same enigma as the autonomous weapons themselves. A humble, unassuming structure nestled among fields of scruffy trees and warehouses, the plant, which started operations this spring, bears no advertisements or signboards. Aevex has been warned by intelligence sources that Russia is actively tracking suppliers of weapons to Ukraine, including their employees. To safeguard them, identifying marks are removed from the drone components and the lethal machines are meticulously cleaned before dispatch to eliminate any traces of fingerprints or DNA.
Secrecy has been the cloak worn by Phoenix Ghost drones ever since their deployment in Ukraine was first announced by the U.S. Department of Defense in April 2022, two months after Russia's invasion. For over two years, there were no verifiable images or videos of the drones from the battlefield. The Pentagon's contractual confidentiality obligations and the close-lipped nature of Aevex and the Ukrainian military fueled wild speculation.
However, these restrictions have loosened, and in October, Our Website was granted access to Aevex's Florida factory to gain insights into how a relatively unheralded defense contractor, with no prior drone-building experience, managed to secure contracts to churn out an eclectic mix of aerial weapons, significantly impacting the ongoing Ukraine conflict.
Aevex showcased four distinct drone models it had developed for the Phoenix Ghost initiative, although they are not yet ready to unveil the others from the shadows. Aevex claims to have delivered over 5,000 drones to Ukraine, making them the most significant U.S. drone manufacturer in terms of quantity, with the Pentagon providing $582 million towards this endeavor through mid-October. Co-founder and CEO Brian Raduenz forecasts a revenue growth of $500 million for the year, a substantial increase from over $100 million in 2021, largely attributable to the burgeoning drone business. Now, Raduenz aspires to become a major supplier to the U.S. military and its allies as they ramp up their drone acquisitions following the compelling evidence of their effectiveness in Ukraine.
Raduenz is convinced of Aevex's competitive edge due to its agility in quickly developing low-cost drones in bulk and adapting them in response to Russian countermeasures. This, he believes, puts the nimble Southern California-based company ahead of its competitors like Palmer Luckey's defense tech startup Anduril and venerable DoD drone supplier AeroVironment, both of whom Raduenz views as relying on outdated loitering munitions technology.
“The world is set to witness changes at a faster pace than ever before,” said Raduenz. “We're not bound to any legacy technology that we must ensure compatibility with the DoD.”
though Aevex had no prior experience in constructing drones before the Ukraine conflict, the company and Raduenz had a history with unmanned aerial vehicles. Raduenz was instrumental in weaponizing the groundbreaking Predator following the 9/11 attacks as a member of a clandestine Air Force unit called Big Safari, which bypasses Pentagon bureaucracy to expedite the deployment of weapons and capabilities. Raduenz went into business in 2008, aiming to provide support to Big Safari on an external basis. He established Aevex to cater to various intelligence collection needs, supplying pilots for armed and unarmed surveillance aircraft like Predator, processing data, and offering custom aircraft modifications to government customers.
In early 2022, the Pentagon was in a race against time to source aerial weapons for swift dispatch to Ukraine. James “Mookie” Sturim, who had collaborated with Raduenz at Big Safari and joined Aevex in 2023 to spearhead the nascent drone division, recalled a non-traditional, open-ended solicitation from the DoD: “Develop a system that will impede the movement of a large armed force.” In other words, “Curb the advance of tanks towards Kiev.”
An Aevex executive suggested a Tampa drone manufacturer he considered an ideal partner: Tribe Aerospace, which specialized in producing affordable replicas of enemy drones for the DoD to evaluate and test the effectiveness of drone defense systems.
Tribe had the inventory and the ability to manufacture 20 drones a month - a significant figure for U.S. military drone manufacturers at that time. With Aevex, Tribe devised a plan to weaponize a drone model known as Dagger, inspired by an enemy V-tail drone that had crashed at a U.S. base. The body was constructed from a cardboard mailing tube reinforced with carbon fiber.
They were awarded a contract to deliver 121 Daggers, christened under the Phoenix Ghost banner, on Easter Sunday within a three-month deadline. The challenge was to design a warhead that could fit within the 6-foot-long frame and create a custom arming mechanism to prevent premature detonation.
Tribe's team of approximately 20 managed to meet this challenge while simultaneously maintaining its counter-UAS evaluation business. “It was an intense period” of relentless work and rapid prototyping, Joe Register, a Tribe co-founder told Our Website. “We'd work for 24 or 48 hours consecutively, traveling from one event to the next, taking turns sleeping on airplanes and in storage crates around the world.”
They altered another drone designed for military practice by air defense units, which were abundant in Alabama. According to Sturim, Aevex transformed countless drones as the Department of Defense placed additional orders. In July, the Biden administration promised Ukraine 580 Phoenix Ghost drones, followed by an additional 1,100 in November.
Aevex agreed to acquire Tribe on Halloween night. By then, they increased production to approximately 330 drones per month.
The company's work testing counter-drone defense systems and scrutinizing enemy aerial threats significantly enhanced their understanding of constructing quieter and less detectable drones, as well as stealthier operating techniques, mentioned Register, now the chief engineer of Aevex's drone division.
The Dagger made an immediate impact. Even when it was shot down, the $49,000 drone provoked Russian air defense missiles to prioritize it, said Jones, the chief of staff of Aevex's drone division. "We were performing some entertaining math," she explained. "That cardboard tube cost the enemy half a million dollars."
As the conflict evolved into trench warfare over a significant portion of the battlefield and Ukraine became proficient in manufacturing countless small first-person-view drones for attacks, the Dagger was no longer required. Aevex then focused on manufacturing a larger, longer-range version called Disruptor, priced at $69,000, and a more sophisticated relative called Dominator, which boasted more payload capacity and versatility to carry surveillance equipment.
These drones lacked some of the capabilities of more expensive loitering munitions, like AeroVironment's Switchblade 600, which costs $200,000. They could only target stationary objectives, following pre-programmed routes. However, they could deliver a substantial amount of explosives across hundreds of miles into enemy territory, striking targets such as fuel and ammunition depots. They could also be fitted with a shattering warhead that broke above enclosures of troop formations at staging sites.
The drones and a smart pneumatic launcher were designed to fit into crates no larger than the Mercedes Sprinter vans commonly utilized by Ukrainian soldiers for transporting equipment on the battlefield.
Aevex engineers take pride in their ability to make system changes rapidly in response to Russian countermeasures and their efforts to make drone assembly simpler, even on freezing winter nights with gloves on. Disruptor takes just five minutes to assemble.
This accelerates the deployment of drones, reducing operators' exposure to detection by Russian forces looking to bomb launch sites.
With financial support from the private-equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners, which bought a majority stake in Aevex for $450 million in 2020, Aevex has significantly boosted orders with the opening of the Tampa factory. The vast factory, with 24-foot ceilings, currently operates two production lines but has enough space for seven. With three shifts, production could reach 1,000 drones per month.
Raduenz is confident that Aevex will achieve this, even if President-elect Donald Trump decreases aid to Ukraine. He believes the company has foreign sales in progress and intends to compete for new U.S. military programs with more advanced drones it's developing, including a model called Atlas introduced this spring.
Raduenz also envisions Disruptor and Dominator – equipped with upgrades to meet DoD standards – fitting U.S. plans to acquire large quantities of disposable drones to prepare for a possible conflict against China in the vast Pacific. In October, Aevex acquired Veth Research Associates, a developer of navigation and autonomy systems, to allow its drones to better function in congested battlefield environments and locate targets over featureless oceans.
"We have a lot coming up that we believe we're well-positioned to bid on and win," said Raduenz.
For now, the company remains dedicated to assisting Ukraine – a mission that executives have described as personal. In the black plastic cases containing control equipment, Aevex includes care packages for Ukrainian troops: glow sticks, cigarettes, and hand warmers during winter.
"They're not just getting our contractual obligations," said Sturim. "We believe in their cause."
- Aevex has been cautious in delivering Phoenix Ghost drones to Ukraine due to warnings from intelligence sources about Russian tracking of weapons suppliers.
- The Tampa facility where Aevex manufactures its Phoenix Ghost drones is reminiscent of Anduril and AeroVironment's reliance on outdated loitering munitions technology, according to Aevex CEO Brian Raduenz.
- Despite having no prior experience in drone construction, Aevex was able to secure contracts to produce drones for Ukraine with the help of Tribe Aerospace, which specializes in producing inexpensive enemy drone replicas for the DoD.
- Aevex's Phoenix Ghost drones have been effective in Ukraine, causing Russian air defense missiles to prioritize them, even when they were shot down, according to Aevex's chief of staff, Jones.