New drone ETF launches with industry expected to reach $60B by 2030

The drone economy is starting to take off, giving investors more options to put their money into the up-and-coming industry.

For example, the recently launched REX Drone exchange-traded fund allocates 80% of its portfolio to companies that generate the majority of their revenue from companies that support drones, unmanned aerial vehicles (UVA), and industry technology.

“The topic of drones is exciting for several reasons,” REX CEO Greg King told FOX Business. “Number one is military applications. Ukraine and the Middle East have approved its operational use. And the defense budget is shifting much more spending to UAVs than to conventional weapons. But what is more interesting to us is commercial applications. There are delivery services, surveillance services, inspection services across different sectors, and now they are starting to consolidate around this theme.”

The American MEROPS anti-drone system is being tested at the Nowa Dewa military training range in southeastern Poland in November 2025. (Wojtek Radwanski/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)

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Drones in the military It was a game changer. Ondus Holdings, the fund’s largest position, provides aviation intelligence and next-generation connectivity technology to provide stealth security.

Ondus drone in flight. (Ondus)

The second largest holding, AeroVironment, is known for its precision loitering weapon, the “switchblade.” The company recently expanded on these combat-proven systems, which the company said will help ensure “warfighters maintain tactical advantage in the most intense environments.”

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and Palantir Technologies, Although a smaller position, it is highly regarded for its commitment to supporting only the American military. The Army’s support includes software that helps artificial intelligence decipher data.

The drone industry is expected to grow by about 8% to 10% annually, reaching $60 billion by 2030, as more industries adopt the technology, King said.

Walmart expands its drone delivery service with DroneUp. (Walmart)

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“Military forces have been steadily growing for some time, but commercial applications have also grown, such as crop monitoring and pipeline inspection. Amazon, Walmart, UPS When it comes to shipping to remote locations, it’s very difficult to say which areas within the theme will see the most growth. That’s why we touch on the subject so broadly,” he added.

DRNZ is designed to provide one-stop shopping for investors looking to tap into growth industries. King compared the industry’s future by connecting it to its past.

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“The efficiencies that only we can achieve kind of underpin the whole theme of this investment. If you think about it, we invented little birds that we can control, right? It started with homing pigeons and now we have stronger, faster birds that we can send anywhere and do whatever we want them to do,” he said.

“I don’t think many of them would have thought of it. So it’s definitely an exciting space.”