Australian drone technology company Freespace Operations has opened a new manufacturing facility in Tullamarine, Melbourne, marking a significant step for the country's sovereign drone manufacturing capability and its growing role across defence, infrastructure, mining, energy, surveying and emergency response.
The facility will support continued growth for Freespace, which has expanded from two to 20 employees over the past 24 months. It will enable the company to design, manufacture, test and deliver its Australian-built heavy-lift industrial drone systems, including its flagship Callisto 50 platform.
The expansion coincides with Freespace completing production of its 150th drone, with plans to double output and grow its engineering and technical workforce from 20 to approximately 30 over the next 12 months, driven by new orders from defence and industry customers.
Founded in Melbourne in 2019, Freespace has grown from a two-person start-up into one of the world's leading heavy-lift drone manufacturers, supplying logistics and industrial drone systems to government and commercial customers in Australia and overseas. Its Cooperative-Lift technology allows multiple Callisto 50 drones to work together, safely balancing and carrying loads of up to 100 kilograms in real-world conditions, four times what a single Callisto 50 can manage on its own. The company's ShipOps and Beacon technology also enables drones to operate from moving ships.
Freespace's drones are used across logistics and industrial applications, including delivering cargo to ships, powerline stringing, moving equipment across hazardous sites, supporting remote infrastructure projects, assisting emergency services, and reducing the need for crewed aircraft on dull, dirty or dangerous missions.
Freespace co-founder and CEO Ken King said the new facility was a milestone for both the company and Australia's emerging sovereign drone industry. "Australia has the engineering talent, industrial base and operational need to build world-leading drone systems here at home. This facility is a clear demonstration of that sovereign capability coming online," he said.
"Freespace started with two people and a belief that Australia could design and manufacture advanced heavy-lift drone systems for some of the most demanding environments in the world. We now have a team of 20, our 150th drone completed, new orders coming through, and a clear pathway to double both our production output and our workforce over the next 12 months."
King said demand was coming from across the economy. "Logistics and industrial drones have a major role to play across industry, whether that is moving supplies to ships, supporting mining and energy operations, stringing power lines, or helping emergency services move critical supplies without putting pilots at risk."
Building sovereign manufacturing capability
The new site spans 1,100 square metres of manufacturing, assembly and testing space, with capacity to produce more than 100 drones a year once fully operational. It will also support local supply chain development, advanced manufacturing processes, pilot training and engineering roles in Melbourne.
Freespace has delivered 35 Australian Government and Defence contracts worth more than A$12.6 million to date, alongside enterprise projects with energy infrastructure companies including Infravision and Enerven.
Freespace co-founder and CTO Leonard Hall said the expansion would help move the company's technology from breakthrough to operational deployment. "Cooperative-Lift is not about drones flying in formation for show. It is about multiple aircraft physically working together to carry a real payload, in real-world conditions, where wind, load movement and aircraft behaviour all have to be managed safely," he said.
Hall said the capability had made Freespace a significant exporter, with more than half of its output now going to energy industry customers across the Asia-Pacific region. "The new facility gives us the manufacturing foundation to scale, and make Australia home to a truly world-class industrial, heavy-lift drone capability," he said.