)
Military drone parts maker KTEK Aerosystems Ltd (ASX: KTK) has filled its $10 million initial public offering in less than 24 hours, attracting more than $30 million in investor bids as institutional backers scramble for exposure to the booming defence UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) supply chain.
The three-times oversubscription sets the stage for the company's ASX listing on 18 May 2026 with an IPO price of 20c per share giving KTEK a pro-forma market capitalisation of $28 million.
KTEK is a Tier-2 defence supplier specialising in composite airframes and electromechanical assemblies for military unmanned aerial vehicles.
The company, which was founded in Israel and incorporated in Australia with a headquarters in Perth for the IPO, operates what it calls a "Cordless Factory" model - an asset-light production network spanning facilities in Australia, Israel, Portugal and the Netherlands, with a US operation planned.
The IPO attracted heavyweight institutional backing from Regal Funds Management, which participated in both seed and IPO rounds, alongside Thorney Investment Group, VP Capital, Cyan Investment Management, Scopus Ventures and TGI Holdings, the Tagliaferro family office.
"Meeting a $10 million raise target in under 24 hours, with $30 million in total demand, tells you something about where institutional investors see the defence UAV market heading - and KTEK's place in it," says KTEK founder and managing director Dekel Keisar.
"Having grown revenue more than 300 per cent over the past two years, we are now focussed on execution - scaling production, onboarding new Tier-1 customers and cementing our position within global defence supply chains."
KTEK reports revenue exceeding $5 million for FY2025, while the company holds a customer order book of $9.2 million.
“KTEK is very well-positioned as a picks-and-shovels play to help facilitate the rapid acceleration in drone production driven by strong demand from Defence departments globally," says TGI Holdings founder Anton Tagliaferro.
"In the US alone, the Department of War is forecasting that its annual drone annual purchases will increase from 50,000 in 2025 to 300,000 in 2026 and then to over a million drones over the next few years.
“As such, KTEK represents a compelling opportunity for investors to gain exposure to this strongly growing sector and to invest in a company that is already demonstrating commercial traction.
"The strong level of institutional support for the IPO reflects the strong prospects for the company in the years ahead.”
The listing comes against the backdrop of a rapid expansion in western military drone spending.
KTEK says its distributed manufacturing model positions it to serve multiple NATO-aligned Defence customers without relying on a single facility, reducing concentration risk while keeping capital expenditure low.
The company counts both prime contractors and government agencies among its customer base.
IPO funds will be directed toward scaling production capacity, advancing the planned US facility and expanding the company's order pipeline across allied Defence markets.
)
