DroneShield's Backlog Keeps Climbing Even as the Tape Refuses to Cooperate

DroneShield's FY2026 committed revenue rose to USD 251M by 8 September, with RfRecon landing its first military buyer, even as shares stay under pressure.

DroneShield has nudged its secured order book higher once again, telling the market that committed revenue for the 2026 financial year reached USD 251 million as of 8 September. That is up from USD 240 million at the end of August and keeps the anti-drone specialist comfortably inside its own guidance corridor of USD 250 million to USD 270 million. A further USD 46 million in contracted work is already locked in for the 2027 financial year and beyond.

The steady upward revision of committed revenue over just a few weeks suggests the new-business pipeline is holding up despite a bruising stretch for the share price. For investors who have spent recent weeks watching the stock slide, it amounts to a rare operational counterweight.

RfRecon Lands Its First Buyer

Alongside the revenue update, DroneShield confirmed the maiden order for RfRecon, a newly launched AI-supported radio reconnaissance device. The customer is an existing military end user in Western Europe, and hardware delivery is slated for completion by the end of 2026.

The win matters beyond its headline value. It shows DroneShield pushing its product range past conventional drone detection and countermeasures into broader electronic surveillance — and, just as importantly, that established defence clients are willing to add new product lines to their order sheets.

Two Seats Reshuffled at the Top

The company also used the same announcement to confirm a pair of leadership changes. Rebecca Lowde will take over as chief financial officer on 2 November, a move DroneShield had flagged the previous Thursday. In tandem, Carla Balanco is stepping down as joint company secretary after more than eight years in the role.

Balanco's tenure spanned much of DroneShield's transformation from a niche player into an internationally watched name in counter-drone technology. Management stressed that the two appointments were handled independently of one another, though the twin changes land at a moment when the group is clearly reshaping its administrative layer to match a larger business.

Beyond the Core Business

DroneShield's activities are not confined to hardware sales. The company is backing 3 Wing of the Australian Air Force Cadets through a leadership development and technical education programme. Earlier this month, a change involving a substantial shareholder was also disclosed via a mandatory notice to the Australian Securities Exchange.

The Market Isn't Moved

None of it has shifted the share price. The stock closed Friday at EUR 1.04, down 0.2% on the day, 18% over the past month and 42% since the start of the year. It now trades roughly 72% below its 52-week high of EUR 3.79, set on 1 October, and sits 42% under its 200-day moving average — a measure of how deep the correction has run. The relative strength index reads 38.3.

Part of the pressure comes from positioning: DroneShield has ranked among the most heavily shorted names on the Australian market, adding persistent selling flow. The half-year results published about a month ago did not help either — revenue grew strongly, but profit collapsed, and the shares have shed some 27% since.

That leaves a familiar split screen. The order book is expanding, RfRecon has found its first customer, and guidance is intact, yet the tape keeps heading the other way. Whether the incoming finance chief can inject fresh momentum into the company's dialogue with the capital markets from November onward is now the question investors are likely to track most closely.