A new defense technology and manufacturing company has been officially welcomed into Hoke County. Leadership and staff of DRACOE hosted a grand opening ceremony for their new facility located off of Highway 15/50 close to Aberdeen, N.C. on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
The Veteran-owned company specializes in the design, manufacturing and integration of unmanned systems and critical components.
DRACOE offers services in contract manufacturing, engineering services and tactical training. Its featured systems include the SPEAR C-UAS Training & Evaluation Ecosystem, delivering realistic, repeatable and cost-effective C-UAS training at an operational scale.
“Drone warfare is a new way of war, a way of war we must embrace at the tactical level, but at the defense industrial base level too. In this facility, we will integrate production, research and development and training, all in one environment. This will enable us to go fast, faster to scale, from concept to capability deployment,” shared DRACOE CEO and Co-founder Nik Dunne.
The new facility has created 67 local jobs and aims to grow to 150 by the end of 2027; plans are also in place to continue to grow the facility. DRACOE has partnered with Sandhills Community College to offer pre-employment training for open positions such as mechanical assembly technician and electrical assembly technician with pay starting at $20 an hour…