AIRO March 31, 2026

AIRO Group Holdings, Inc. Q4 2025 Earnings Call - Drone-led momentum, $150M backlog and U.S. manufacturing ramp set stage for 15%-25% 2026 growth

Summary

AIRO closed 2025 as a drone company first, with drones accounting for roughly 87% of revenue, U.S. manufacturing coming online, and a roughly $150 million drone backlog that management says has strong near-term convertibility. The company reported $90.9 million in 2025 revenue, meaningful EBITDA improvement year over year, and $74.4 million of cash, while signaling a strategic pivot away from passenger eVTOL toward medium-lift, multi-role platforms where defense demand and procurement timelines are clearer.

Management gave full year 2026 revenue growth guidance of 15% to 25% that excludes two announced joint ventures, flagged mid-year Blue UAS certification as an important domestic enabler, and emphasized delivery timing and product mix as the drivers of quarter-to-quarter variability. Key execution items to watch are backlog conversion, U.S. DoD order timing, Phoenix production scale-up, and early Jaunt flight milestones targeted in late 2026.

Key Takeaways

  • 2025 revenue was $90.9 million, with Q4 revenue of $48.3 million, up from $39.7 million in Q4 2024.
  • Drones drove the business, representing approximately 87% of total 2025 revenue; the drone segment remains the primary growth engine.
  • Drone segment backlog was reported at about $150 million as of March 31, 2026, translated to USD at market close March 27, 2026; management says it has strong visibility on a meaningful portion converting within 12 months.
  • Full year 2026 revenue growth guidance is 15% to 25% year over year, and that guidance explicitly excludes contributions from the two joint ventures with Nord Drone and Bullet, which management expects to be additive.
  • AIRO produced the first U.S.-manufactured RQ-35 Heidrun at its Phoenix facility, completed phase one validation and flight testing in December, and cites Phoenix capacity target of up to 100 units per month when scaled.
  • Company cash was $74.4 million as of December 31, 2025, supported by a prior follow-on offering that raised $89.4 million in gross proceeds during Q3 2025.
  • Profitability and margins: full year 2025 EBITDA was $24.7 million versus negative prior year; full year adjusted EBITDA was $5.7 million, down from $33.7 million in 2024. Q4 gross margin was 61.4% versus 69.9% in Q4 2024, driven by product mix and upgraded system integration.
  • Management sharpened strategy away from passenger eVTOL and toward medium-lift, multi-role 'Jaunt' platforms. JX-250/JC-250 target specs: up to 500 lb payload and up to 250 mile range. First flight targeted late 2026, initial availability late 2027.
  • Blue UAS certification is expected in the first half of 2026, which management says will expand addressable U.S. DoD opportunities but is not the primary near-term revenue driver.
  • Two strategic transactions: a joint venture with Nord Drone to scale battlefield-proven systems and a letter of intent with Bullet to advance interceptor drones. Both JVs are near-term priorities but not baked into 2026 guidance.
  • Operational capacity expansions include Stovring, Denmark modernization with roughly 30% capacity above current orders, a new sales hub in Singapore for APAC, and an added U.K. sales hub for MOD and Middle East channels.
  • Training and avionics are complementary growth drivers. Training won a $1.9 million one-year IDIQ for U.S. Navy flight and JTAC support; S-211 and L-39 aircraft modifications are in process and starting to support contracts. Aspen Avionics advanced NexNav MAX 2 and secured multi-year OEM purchase orders.
  • Management warns of delivery timing and product mix causing quarter-to-quarter volatility, and says Q1 2026 will be driven largely by field upgrades with larger shipments later in the year; they recommend evaluating performance on a full-year basis.
  • Backlog and revenue are subject to foreign exchange translation, delivery delays, and potential cancellations. Management intentionally provided conservative guidance below backlog to allow margin for timing shifts.
  • R&D and capex stance: company will reduce passenger eVTOL related spend and reallocate capital toward medium-lift platforms, R&D, manufacturing readiness, avionics commonality, and supply chain resiliency; near-term investment cadence may pressure margins but is framed as deliberate scaling.

Full Transcript

Rob, Conference Operator: Thank you for standing by. My name is Rob and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the AIRO fourth quarter 2025 earnings call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker’s remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star followed by the number 1 on your telephone keypad. Thank you. I would now like to turn the call over to Dan Johnson, Executive Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Dan Johnson, Executive Vice President of Investor Relations, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to the AIRO Group Holdings, Inc. fourth quarter 2025 earnings call. We appreciate you joining us today and look forward to sharing an update on our progress and performance. With me on the call are Dr. Chiranjeev Kathuria, our Executive Chairman, Captain Joe Burns, our Chief Executive Officer, and Dr. Mariya Pylypiv, our Chief Financial Officer. Replay information for today’s call can be found in our earnings press release issued earlier this morning. Today’s call will include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to statements relating to AIRO’s 2026 outlook. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements represent our management’s beliefs and assumptions only as of the date made. Information on factors that could affect the company’s financial results is included in its filings with the SEC from time to time. In addition to our prepared remarks, our earnings press release, SEC filings, and a replay of today’s call can be found on our investor relations website at investor.theairogroup.com. In addition, during today’s call, we will discuss non-GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP financial measures are in addition to and not a substitute for or superior to measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations between GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures and a discussion of the limitations of using non-GAAP measures versus their closest GAAP equivalent is available in our earnings release. Additionally, we plan to discuss drone segment backlog, a definition of which can be found in our earnings release.

With that, I’ll turn the call over to our Executive Chairman, Dr. Chiranjeev Kathuria.

Dr. Chiranjeev Kathuria, Executive Chairman, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: Thank you, Dan. It’s a pleasure to be with all of you today. As Executive Chairman, I’ll begin with a brief strategic overview before turning it over to Joe to walk through our operating segments. 2025 was a defining year for AIRO Group. We made meaningful progress operationally, strategically, and financially as we continued building what we believe is a differentiated, integrated aerospace and defense platform positioned at the intersection of defense mobility, security, and training. During the year, we continued to refine our strategic focus around areas where we see the strongest alignment between customer demand, execution timelines, and long-term value creation. I’m extremely proud of how our team executed across our core businesses, drones, training, and avionics, while advancing our roadmap in defense mobility with increased emphasis on medium-lift, multi-role unmanned platforms that support logistics, ISR, and other mission-critical applications.

This focused approach allows us to deploy capital more effectively, accelerate platform development, and scale the business in a disciplined manner as a newly public company. For full year 2025, we delivered revenues of $90.9 million and EBITDA of $24.7 million. Fourth quarter revenue came in at $48.3 million, reflecting strong execution, particularly within our drone and training segments. Also, cash totaled $74.4 million as of December 31, 2025. We are pleased with this performance, especially given the rapidly evolving operational requirements of our defense customers. One of AIRO’s core strengths is our ability to rapidly integrate new capabilities into deployed platforms and deliver mission-ready systems in a dynamic and contested environment. That agility continues to differentiate us. Beyond the financial results, 2025 was a transformational year.

We successfully went public, strengthened our balance sheet, expanded our U.S. manufacturing footprint, advanced towards Blue UAS certification, and announced strategic joint ventures that’ll expand our global reach and production scale. At the same time, we broadened our presence across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Ukraine. We exited the year with strong momentum and increasing visibility into 2026. With that, let me turn it over to Joe to give you more color on our segments and the market. Joe?

Captain Joe Burns, Chief Executive Officer, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: Thanks, Chiranjeev, and welcome everybody. Let me start by stepping back and framing how we are approaching the business. 2025 was an important execution year for AIRO. Across our drone, avionics, and training businesses, we made meaningful progress in advancing our position as a defense-focused, integrated unmanned systems platform, delivering combat-proven ISR capability today while building towards scalable logistics and multi-role drone platforms in the future. Importantly, our business today is overwhelmingly driven by drones, which represented approximately 87% of total revenue in 2025 and continue to be the primary engine of growth and demand across the company. Our focus is clear: supporting U.S. and allied defense customers with mission-ready systems that can be produced, upgraded, and sustained at scale.

One of the highlights of 2025 was completing the first RQ-35 intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance drones produced to full operational standard at our U.S. manufacturing facility in Phoenix, Arizona. This marks the first U.S.-manufactured RQ-35 systems and a major milestone in our Made in America expansion strategy. The systems were built to the same specifications as those produced at our Denmark facility, completed phase one of U.S. manufacturing and validation, and concluded a comprehensive flight test campaign successfully in December. This achievement reflects our commitment to delivering combat-proven ISR systems from U.S. soil and strengthens our ability to serve both domestic and allied defense customers. The RQ-35 Heidrun continues to perform exceptionally well in GPS-denied and contested environments. Demand for combat-proven, autonomous ISR systems remains strong across NATO-aligned nations and allied defense customers. We are increasingly positioned as a scaled supplier of mission-ready platforms to allied defense customers.

We continue to invest in strengthening and expanding our UAS solution offering and are preparing for new multiple product launches in the first half of 2026. In particular, we are embracing our capabilities in artificial intelligence and edge computing to further broaden and differentiate our solution portfolio. We remain on track to receive Blue UAS certification in the first half of 2026, which we believe will meaningfully expand our addressable U.S. Department of Defense opportunities and allow us to scale domestic adoption more aggressively. In addition, Sky-Watch, together with Aalborg University and a third partner, was awarded a $4.5 million program to develop counter-electronic warfare technology for integration into Sky-Watch UAS platforms, providing operators with greater mission assurance and operational continuity in denied or degraded environments. On the production side, we continue to scale manufacturing capability and operational efficiency.

Modernization of the Støvring facility in Denmark is intended to increase production throughput as demand expands. We have already invested heavily in plant expansion in Denmark and have the capacity to produce roughly 30% beyond our existing order stream. To support continued international growth, we opened a sales hub in Singapore to serve the Asia-Pacific region, initiated new trial programs across the APAC and EU, and expanded our local presence in Ukraine, allowing us to remain closely aligned with real-time battlefield requirements and continuously refine our systems based on active operational feedback. Additionally, we have added significant personnel resources with strong international governmental sales experience to our enterprise. Of note, we have also added the U.K. as a sales hub, allowing access to U.K. MOD and Middle East channels.

Taken together, these initiatives reinforce our strategy of delivering mission-ready ISR systems that can be produced, upgraded, and supported from both U.S. and allied manufacturing bases. Moving on to our two joint ventures that we announced in the second half of 2025. In November, we executed a joint venture with Nord Drone Group to accelerate the deployment of battlefield-tested unmanned aerial systems across the United States, Ukraine, and NATO defense markets. The partnership, when completed, will combine AIRO’s U.S. manufacturing infrastructure and government procurement expertise with Nord Drone’s combat-proven technologies and high-volume production capabilities. Together, this will create a scalable framework to rapidly deliver mission-ready systems to allied defense customers. We also signed a letter of intent with Bullet, a Ukrainian developer of high-speed interceptor drones designed to counter hostile unmanned aerial threats.

The proposed joint venture is focusing on advancing these interceptor platforms for the U.S. and NATO defense markets while expanding production capability and accelerating next-generation development. We are working to finalize the JV with Bullet in the coming quarter and are excited to partner with them. Together, these partnerships will position AIRO not just as a drone developer, but as a scalable platform delivering combat-proven systems across the NATO defense ecosystem. Within that focus, medium-lift multi-role capability has become an increasingly important part of our long-term roadmap. These platforms are designed to support defense, logistics, persistent ISR, and other dual-use missions that require greater payload capacity, endurance, and operational flexibility. They allow us to address multiple mission sets with a single adaptable platform without the regulatory and infrastructure complexity associated with the passenger transport and represent a significant long-term opportunity for AIRO.

The launch aircraft, the JX-250 and the JC-250, is designed to carry up to 500 lbs of payload over distances of up to 250 mi, enabling high-value logistics and ISR missions in challenging or infrastructure-constrained environments. We expect the Jaunt platform to officially commercialize and be operationally ready in 2027. The use cases are compelling and initially defense dual-use driven, in natural disaster environments the ability to rapidly deliver critical supplies into damaged or inaccessible regions. In military settings, the aircraft can be utilized to transport ammunition and medical supplies to forward operating locations without exposing personnel to unnecessary risk. In commercial markets, it addresses remote and time-sensitive shipping applications where traditional infrastructure is limited. From inception, the Jaunt medium-lift multi-role drone has been engineered as a dual-use platform, serving both defense and commercial markets, which we believe significantly expands its long-term addressable opportunity.

We expect the platform to follow a disciplined development path with first flight targeted for late 2026 in the initial market availability expected in late 2027. Our training business continued to build momentum as well. We are proud to share that AIRO’s training division, through our wholly owned subsidiary, Coastal Defense Inc., was awarded a $1.9 million one-year indefinite delivery and quantity contract to support U.S. Navy flight and joint terminal attack controller training programs. This award enhances a core element of naval readiness by delivering specialized training support services designed to elevate realism and execution of aviation and JTAC events. It reflects the Navy’s continued confidence in our ability to support mission-critical training requirements. We have also finished the modification of one of our S-211 aircraft to make it flight-ready for military contracts and have already flown it on a contract to great success.

Our second S-211 will be ready by mid-2026. Additionally, we are 90% complete with modifications to our first L-39 aircraft to support live ordnance training missions. The second L-39 will be ready to employ live training munitions in May. Lastly, we are well-positioned to bid on multiple upcoming long-term close air support training contracts. The request for proposals should be released sometime in the second half of 2026. Aspen Avionics also performed well during the year. We advanced the development of the NexNav MAX 2, secured multi-year OEM purchase orders, and continued expanding foreign military engagement. Aspen remains strategically important for the vertical integration advantages it provides across our unmanned systems profile. Stepping back, the macro environment remains supportive, with sustained increases in defense spending across NATO and allied nations driven by modernization requirements and evolving threat profiles.

These investments are not only focused on force expansion, but increasingly on capabilities that enhance defense mobility, resilience, and operational flexibility, including ISR, counter-electronic warfare, resilient logistics platforms, and integrated training solutions. Importantly, this demand extends well beyond active conflict zones. It includes border security, maritime domain awareness, infrastructure protection, and allied force modernization across Europe and Asia-Pacific. We believe AIRO is well-positioned to capitalize on these trends through our integrated unmanned systems platform, with a particular emphasis on medium-lift multi-role drones that support mission-critical mobility and logistics requirements. In addition to organic growth, we remain disciplined in evaluating inorganic opportunities. I’d like to provide some color about the types of targets we’re evaluating. Companies that will be accretive within 12 months, strategically aligned with our drone and avionics platforms, and value-enhancing for our shareholders.

Our balance sheet provides flexibility, and we intend to deploy capital thoughtfully as we remain opportunistic. As we close out the year, I want to step back and provide an update on how our priorities have continued to evolve as we focus on execution and long-term value creation. Building on the momentum we’ve seen across the business, including the continued success of the RQ-35 ISR drone and the deliberate shift away from passenger eVTOLs toward the medium-lift multi-role drones, where demand is more immediate and development timelines are better aligned with defense procurement cycles. Over the past year, we’ve made meaningful progress across our drone family, supported by increasing integration between our platforms, avionics, and training capabilities.

These systems continue to address real-world defense and dual-use mission requirements, ranging from ISR and logistics to operations in austere and infrastructure-constrained environments, where demand is tangible and use cases are well-established. As expected, our training and avionics segments remain important enablers of this strategy. Training continues to support customer readiness and fleet adoption, while avionics provides common architecture and mission flexibility across the platforms. Together, these segments strengthen customer relationships and scale alongside deployed fleets, reinforcing the durability of our overall business model as programs mature. Operationally, we have continued to invest in manufacturing, supply chain, and commercial infrastructure with a particular emphasis on scaling capacity in the United States while continuing to expand our European footprint. This integrated transcontinental approach supports our resilient production, tighter execution, and compliance across the U.S. and allied programs.

Our research and development, manufacturing, and commercial teams are increasingly coordinated, leveraging shared architectures, suppliers, and production processes across the AIRO portfolio. Against that backdrop, one of the most important refinements we made this year was sharpening our platform focus. As we’ve discussed previously, we have stepped away from passenger eVTOL concepts and concentrated more deliberately on multi-role, medium-lift drones where demand is more immediate and timelines are better aligned with customer procurement cycles. This refinement and strategy directly informs how we will allocate capital. Throughout the year, we’ve prioritized investments in R&D, manufacturing readiness, avionics commonality, training infrastructure, and supply chain resiliency, while primarily in the U.S., while continuing to support our European expansion. As a result, investment levels can vary from quarter to quarter based on program milestones, production sequencing, and supplier ramp-up. These fluctuations are intentional and reflect the long-term capacity building, not changes in underlying demand.

Similarly, revenue in our markets does not develop evenly on a quarterly basis. Delivery schedules, milestone timing, customer acceptance, and procurement cycles, often across U.S. and allied defense programs, can influence when revenue is recognized within a given year. In parallel, our training and avionics segments continue to scale as fleets deploy and operations mature, providing complementary growth characteristics over time. For those reasons, we continue to evaluate performance and provide guidance on a full-year basis, expressed as an annual revenue growth range. This perspective better reflects the progress we’re making, the investments we’re putting into place, and the underlying demand profile across our programs as they move from development into production and scale. Taken together, these efforts position AIRO as a focused defense mobility platform with differentiated capabilities in ISR, logistics, avionics and training, and a clear path towards scalability, long-term value creation.

With that context, I’ll turn it over to Mariya, who will walk you through the financial results and discuss our annual revenue growth outlook in more detail.

Dr. Mariya Pylypiv, Chief Financial Officer, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: Thank you, Joe, and good morning, everyone. For the fourth quarter of 2025, revenue was $48.3 million compared to $39.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, reflecting a continued demand for our drone platforms and deliveries incorporating the customer-requested capability upgrade to the RQ-35 Heidrun system. On a sequential basis, revenue increased from $6.3 million in Q3 to $48.3 million in Q4 of 2025, primarily reflecting approximately $20 million of revenue that shifted from the third quarter into the fourth quarter as a result of customer modifications. Gross profit for the quarter was $29.7 million, representing a gross margin of 61.4%, compared to a gross profit of $27.8 million and gross margin of 69.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024.

The change in the margin primarily reflects product mix, the timing of deliveries across the year, as well as the integration of upgraded system capabilities. Operating income for the quarter was $6 million, compared to $16.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, reflecting continued investment in engineering development, product scaling, and public company infrastructure as we support the growth of the platform. We reported break-even results for the quarter compared to the net loss of $800,000 in the fourth quarter of 2024. Fourth quarter of 2025 EBITDA was $8.8 million, compared to $8.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $8.9 million, compared to $19.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, reflecting the same product mix dynamics and continued investments in scaling the business.

Turning to full year 2025, revenue was $90.9 million, compared to $86.9 million in 2024, driven primarily by the drone segment despite shipment timing adjustments early in the year. Full year gross profit was $54.4 million, representing a gross margin of 59.9%, compared to $58.3 million and 67.1% gross margin in 2024. The change primarily reflects a different mix of product deliveries and the investments we have made to support long-term growth. For the year, we reported an operating loss of $28.8 million, compared to an operating loss of $17.4 million in 2024, reflecting continued investment in engineering capabilities, production capacity, and infrastructure to support our growth strategy.

Net loss for the year was $4.1 million compared to a net loss of $38.7 million in 2024, reflecting the absence of certain non-recurring items recorded in the prior year. For the full year 2025, EBITDA was $24.7 million compared to -$13.1 million in 2024. Adjusted EBITDA for the year was $5.7 million compared to $33.7 million in 2024. The year-over-year change primarily reflects shipment timing, product mix, and investments made throughout the year to scale the business following our transition to a public company. Turning to cash flow and liquidity. As of December 31, 2025, we had $74.4 million in cash on the balance sheet.

During the third quarter, we successfully completed a follow-on offering that raised $89.4 million in gross proceeds, which significantly strengthened our balance sheet and provides substantial resources for growth investments across our integrated drone training and avionics platform, as well as the flexibility to pursue opportunistic acquisitions of complementary businesses, products, services, or technologies. On the backlog and demand visibility, our order pipeline remains strong. As of March 31, 2026, we had approximately $150 million in drone segment backlog. This backlog amount was translated to U.S. dollars using applicable exchange rates as of the market close on March 27, 2026, and may increase or decrease based on fluctuations in the foreign exchange rates. We may experience reduction to drone segment backlog and/or significant order cancellations due to various factors, including delivery delays and production disruptions.

This backlog reflects continued demand for our drone platforms and provides meaningful visibility as we enter 2026. While we continue to grow our training and avionics businesses, our revenue profile remains predominantly driven by the drones. Turning our outlook based on our current order pipeline and demand environment, we expect full year 2026 revenue growth of 15%-25% year-over-year. Importantly, the guidance I provided for full year 2026 does not include the two joint ventures we have announced in the second half of 2025 with Nord Drone and Bullet. However, we do expect them to both be additive to our financials in 2026. Let me now provide some additional context on our revenue cadence. AIRO is a drone-led business, and drones drive most of our revenue. As a result, quarterly performance can vary based on delivery timing, customer acceptance, and program execution.

In the drone segment, we expect first quarter revenue to be primarily driven by field upgrades to deployed systems, with larger shipment planned for the following quarters. Accordingly, we believe it is more appropriate to view the first half of the year in aggregate rather than focusing on any single quarter in isolation. This reflects delivery timing, not any change in underlying demand or customer activity. Moving now to investment and margins. We continue to invest deliberately to scale the business for long-term growth. Those investments include expanding our sales capabilities, advancing R&D, strengthening strategic partnerships, and building out manufacturing and supply chain capacity. As those investments ramp, there may be some near-term impact on margins, but they are intentional and are aligned with supporting a larger, more diversified business over time.

Importantly, current margin dynamics reflect planned mix and timing effects associated with scaling production and integration-enhanced capabilities rather than pricing pressure and changes in underlying demand. In summary, quarterly variability in revenue and margins should be viewed in the context of delivery timing and planned investment. Given the delivery-driven nature of our drone business, we believe that business is best evaluated on a full year basis where demand strengths, backlog conversion, and the benefits of our investments are more clearly reflected. With that, operator, we are ready for questions.

Rob, Conference Operator: Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, simply press star one again. We do ask that you please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. We’ll pause for just a moment to compile our Q&A roster. Our first question today comes from the line of Colin Canfield from Cantor Fitzgerald. Your line is open.

Colin Canfield, Analyst, Cantor Fitzgerald: Hey, thank you for the question. As we think about the strategy change on air mobility, we estimate about $15 million of R&D in 2026 and $10 million in 2027 related to the human-rated portion of that project. Is it fair to assume that both of those line items of specific investment roll off? If that’s fair, can you perhaps talk about kind of how you think about the profitability of the business in 2026 relative to that tailwind? Thank you.

Dr. Chiranjeev Kathuria, Executive Chairman, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: Mariya, do you want to answer or then I can go ahead? Colin, just to answer your first question, you know, we’re gonna reduce our capital expenditure because we’re not developing a passenger eVTOL. We’re focusing on the multi-role, medium-lift cargo joint vehicle. It is fair to say that capital expenditure is going to drop off. Going forward, it’ll add meaningful revenues post 2027.

Colin Canfield, Analyst, Cantor Fitzgerald: Got it. Okay. In terms of the line of sight for kind of the next set of orders, can you maybe talk about kind of how you see the mix of customer demand between U.S. international? How is the team thinking about accounting treatment? It sounds like we’re getting a more crystallized definition of backlog. Is it fair to assume that when we see essentially orders from U.S. or orders from international, like we’ll see those recognized as firm backlog?

Captain Joe Burns, Chief Executive Officer, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: Yep. Thanks Colin, it’s Joe. Our backlog today is approximately $150 million, and we have really good visibility on a meaningful portion of that converting to revenue over the next 12 months. Our contracts tend to be large and program-based, as you know, so backlog growth and conversion can be nonlinear from quarter to quarter. Demand today remains primarily international while the U.S. pipeline continues to build. As we’ve talked about earlier, we have significantly added to our personnel roster to assist in that pipeline construction. From an accounting perspective, revenue is recognized upon delivery with a customer acceptance, which can create normal quarterly variability.

If we talk about other things of certification that will help with this model, with respect to Blue UAS, certification is helpful, but not necessarily the primary driver of our near-term revenue outlook. We’re estimating to finish up that Blue certification mid-year as we’ve talked about before and as planned.

Colin Canfield, Analyst, Cantor Fitzgerald: Got it. Thank you.

Rob, Conference Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Andre Madrid from BTIG. Your line is open.

Andre Madrid, Analyst, BTIG: Yep. Thanks. Good morning. You know, another one on drone backlog. You know, it seems like there’s some unfilled definitive orders and then there’s some in backlog that is kind of undefinitive. Could you maybe provide more color as to what the mix exactly is? Yeah.

Dr. Chiranjeev Kathuria, Executive Chairman, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: Go ahead, Joe, and then I can answer.

Captain Joe Burns, Chief Executive Officer, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: We have significantly strong visibility into our backlog as we’ve described. Very comfortable. In fact, we’ve gone so far as to produce massive numbers of airframes in anticipation of this actual backlog that we’ve discussed.

Dr. Chiranjeev Kathuria, Executive Chairman, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: To answer your question, you know, the backlog was based, we did a bottoms-up approach looking at all our customers and NATO orders. Over the next, you know, 12 months, the team is very comfortable on the $150 million of firm backlog going forward.

Andre Madrid, Analyst, BTIG: Got it. I guess a follow-up to that. I mean, you know, your current backlog seems to, you know, last you through 2026. I mean, when do you expect orders to meaningfully step up to the point where we can be confident in growth into 2027 and beyond?

Dr. Chiranjeev Kathuria, Executive Chairman, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: Joe, you wanna start?

Captain Joe Burns, Chief Executive Officer, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: Yeah. Andre, it’s a continuing process, right? As we get in further into the year and we get orders from various NATO countries, that continues to substantiate itself. The actual product itself, the RQ-35, that’s the primary drive for this, is really, you know, continues to outperform in the battlefield. We continue to see growth and acceptance across that pipeline. As we get further into the year and certainly into 2027, we’ll release further guidance as to the growth of the product. So far it looks like it’s a very stable and solid growth platform.

Dr. Chiranjeev Kathuria, Executive Chairman, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: Yeah. The only thing, you know, we expect also meaningful growth as our joint ventures, you know, continue to re-mature. In our $150 million backlog, you know, we also expect, you know, significant U.S. pipeline growth. Joe can talk to you about, you know, delivery of our hybrid and what we’ve done in our Phoenix facility.

Captain Joe Burns, Chief Executive Officer, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: If you can allow me just a second to address that. We have got the certified facility up and running now in Phoenix. We’ve produced multiple drones already, as we talked about just a little bit ago. It’s exciting times for that. We are ready to produce significant number of drones out of Phoenix and are filling the pipeline with DoD types of orders, which is currently in process and doing flight demos to support all of that.

Andre Madrid, Analyst, BTIG: Got it. One more if I could squeeze it in. You know, you previously said, I mean, to your point, you were talking about the Phoenix facility, and you previously said the 2026 outlook doesn’t assume any U.S. sales. Is that still kind of the case? If so, I mean, just how much upside could we see to 15%-25% growth if we see any orders come in earlier than that?

Captain Joe Burns, Chief Executive Officer, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: Sure.

Dr. Mariya Pylypiv, Chief Financial Officer, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: Right. I’ll jump in. Apologies for earlier. I had a connection error and could not hear the first question. In terms of guidance, again, the guidance is primarily on NATO backlogs that we currently have, and any meaningful upside we will be releasing throughout the year when we see orders coming from U.S.

Captain Joe Burns, Chief Executive Officer, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: To specifically address the U.S. output, our Phoenix facility is up and operational. It’s progressing in line with our plan. Our target capacity on that, by the way, is to produce up to 100 units per month. That’s a significant growth for us. Current production is focused on demos and trials and business development, and we’ll scale production in line with our demand and our contract visibilities, particularly to U.S. and DoD customers.

Andre Madrid, Analyst, BTIG: Got it. Appreciate the color. Thank you all.

Dr. Chiranjeev Kathuria, Executive Chairman, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: Thanks.

Rob, Conference Operator: Again, if you’d like to ask a question, it’s star one on your telephone keypad. Your next question comes from a line of Brett Linzey from Mizuho. Your line is open. Brett, your line is open.

Brett Linzey, Analyst, Mizuho: Hey, good morning, all. Just back to the full year 2026 revenue growth outlook. The 15%-25%. Maybe just a finer point on the individual pieces within that. And how much of the 150 backlog are you expecting to ship this year, so within 2026, as part of that outlook for drones?

Dr. Mariya Pylypiv, Chief Financial Officer, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: Brett, we’re giving guidance for the backlog. We expect significant portion of it to convert in the next 12 months. The reason our guidance is below the backlog is just to give us a margin of error if it shifts to the other quarters of 2027.

Dr. Chiranjeev Kathuria, Executive Chairman, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: Brett, I would just add, and Maria can add, you know, the key drivers are drone profitability. You know, that’s still 87% of our revenues, you know, today.

Brett Linzey, Analyst, Mizuho: Maybe just shifting to the U.S. pipeline that you indicated was seeing pretty good momentum. Is there any way to dimension or quantify the level of activity relative to maybe 150 that you’re seeing within the U.S. pipeline? Is it a magnitude of that? Is it, you know, a small fraction? Any color would be helpful.

Dr. Chiranjeev Kathuria, Executive Chairman, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: Sure. Mariya or even Joe.

Dr. Mariya Pylypiv, Chief Financial Officer, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: You know, Brett, I’m happy to jump in. In terms of 2026, as I mentioned, we did not provide any guidance for the U.S. sales. However, we expect that we’ll be able to ramp up in the future where U.S. North America sales will be a significant portion of overall drone sales.

Captain Joe Burns, Chief Executive Officer, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: To qualify that a little bit, we do put that all in perspective of filling the pipeline. We have, as I’d mentioned just a bit ago, dramatically increased our sales and BD team specifically for the U.S. marketplace. We’re currently participating in trials. We’re excited to get in, and we do expect to see some activity in the near future with the U.S. with continued growth. As we all know, the U.S. marketplace is massive, and we plan on being a major player in that market.

Brett Linzey, Analyst, Mizuho: Okay, great. Then just a quick follow-up on some of the JV structure and what the contribution could look like this year. I understand it’s not contemplated within the framework in the outlook, but what are you thinking in terms of the financial impact this year potentially, both on the cost side and the revenue side?

Dr. Chiranjeev Kathuria, Executive Chairman, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: You know, I can start, I think, and then I’ll let Joe and Maria. I think what you’re seeing, especially in the current conflicts, first-person view drones or kinetic drones are becoming very important. With Nord Drone, we have battlefield-proven drones. As you can see from the Middle East conflict, interceptor drones are becoming more and more important. Even if you look at yesterday’s Wall Street Journal article, they don’t want to spend the millions of dollars. We’re very well-positioned along, you know, with our ISR, our Heidrun drones. In terms of, as Maria pointed out, we haven’t included potential revenue from those two joint ventures as we’re now currently looking at, you know, developing the pipeline and where they can be bid. Joe or Maria, do you wanna add anything?

Captain Joe Burns, Chief Executive Officer, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: Sure. Our joint ventures are contemplated as similar, close to a 50/50 type of a relationship. With all sales and contributions from the various conflicts around the planet will roll into the joint venture. It’s all accretive to what we’ve already provided for guidance. You know, anything we do out of those between now and the end of this year certainly will add to the bottom line as well.

Brett Linzey, Analyst, Mizuho: All right. Got it. Thanks a lot. Best of luck.

Captain Joe Burns, Chief Executive Officer, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: Thank you.

Rob, Conference Operator: This concludes our question and answer session. I will now like to turn the call back over to Joe Burns, Chief Executive Officer, for closing remarks.

Captain Joe Burns, Chief Executive Officer, AIRO Group Holdings, Inc.: Yeah. Thank you, everybody, for joining us today. We’re excited about our results from 2025 and really looking forward to a very successful 2026. We spent a lot of capital putting the company together and building for this growth opportunity. We certainly are seeing it in the drone segment and feel like we’re putting our efforts in the right direction. We’re excited to continue this growth pattern and look forward to our progress and giving you more guidance on our progress as we get through the quarters. Thanks again for joining us today.

Rob, Conference Operator: This concludes today’s conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.