Edge Autonomy
Maker of the Stalker and Penguin long-endurance UAS, formed in 2021 from UAV Factory and Jennings Aeronautics; acquired by Redwire for $925M in June 2025.
Edge Autonomy is a U.S. developer and manufacturer of small, long-endurance uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and electro-optical payloads, best known for the Stalker and Penguin aircraft families. The company was formed in 2021 through the merger of UAV Factory and the autopilot and UAS firm Jennings Aeronautics (JAI), with backing from private equity firm AE Industrial Partners, and began going to market under the Edge Autonomy name in February 2022. Its headquarters were set at the former JAI site in San Luis Obispo, California, with support offices in Bend, Oregon and Herndon, Virginia, and a subsidiary in Latvia; corporate entities named in Redwire's filings include Edge Autonomy SLO, Edge Autonomy Bend, Edge Autonomy Energy Systems and Edge Autonomy Huntsville. By January 2025 the company reported more than 600 employees, over 30 years of combined UAS heritage and 265,000 square feet of manufacturing space across the United States and Europe.
In January 2025 Redwire Corporation signed a definitive agreement to acquire Edge Autonomy for $925 million on a cash-free, debt-free basis, and completed the acquisition on June 13, 2025. The business now sits within Redwire's Defense Tech segment; the edgeautonomy.io domain redirects to Redwire's website (rdw.com), where the products are listed under Uncrewed Systems and the team is referred to as Redwire's Edge Autonomy team. Redwire describes the unit as the original equipment manufacturer of the Stalker UAS, the Penguin UAS and the Octopus line of optical gimbal payloads, with manufacturing and flight test facilities in the U.S. and the EU.
Stalker is a small UAS (sUAS) for long-range reconnaissance. The Stalker Block 30 (VXE30) performs fully autonomous vertical take-off and landing, runs on either a solid oxide fuel cell or a rechargeable battery, and uses network-based avionics that support several payloads at once. Redwire states that it has flown for two decades with thousands of flight hours across six continents for customers including the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Army and Five Eyes partners. On July 14, 2025 the Stalker received an Authority to Operate from the Defense Innovation Unit and was added to the Blue UAS List. The Stalker Block 40 upgrade doubles the flight endurance and payload capacity of the base system. Stalker is supplied to the U.S. Army's Long Range Reconnaissance (LRR) program, and the Army's Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Robotic Autonomous Systems placed a $21.5 million follow-on order for Stalker advanced navigation and standard systems. Fuel cells for Stalker are produced in-house at an 85,000 square foot facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The Penguin family covers longer-endurance fixed-wing and VTOL missions. The Penguin C Mk2 offers up to 25 hours of endurance (payload dependent) and a 180 km line-of-sight range, with users including the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Latvian Ministry of Defence. The Penguin C VTOL can take off and land without a runway and is operated by the Latvian and Lithuanian Ministries of Defence and the Royal Saudi Air Force. The newer Penguin Mk3 VTOL provides up to 14 hours of endurance with an 8 kg payload and can be deployed by two people. Redwire reports that it has been contracted directly by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to deliver Penguin UAS, and that more than 100 Stalker and Penguin systems were delivered to customers in seven countries in the months after the acquisition closed, including the U.S. Army, the U.S. Marine Corps, NATO and other allied nations.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
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Contact Edge Autonomy
WEBSITE
https://edgeautonomy.io/HEADQUARTERS
United States
Company Facts
Founded
2021
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
North America
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
Subsidiary / Acquired
Funding Total
-
