Hungary's ABZ opens one of Europe's largest civilian drone factories

ABZ Innovation opened a new drone plant in Szentendre, north of Budapest, in mid-September 2026, and describes it as one of the largest dedicated civilian drone production sites in Europe. The Hungarian manufacturer builds agricultural spraying and spreading aircraft, high-pressure cleaning drones and cargo platforms, and says the building is roughly four times the size of the site it replaces. Its access to the American market now rests on a condition attached to its exemption from the US Federal Communications Commission's Covered List: a plan to move production onshore.

What opened in Szentendre

DroneXL reports that the plant covers 1,060 m² and can build 2,000 aircraft a year on a single shift, or 3,500 on two shifts. DRONELIFE reports the building went up in roughly 90 days and that production was transferred into it in two. ABZ is targeting a threefold increase in output during 2026 and a further doubling in 2027.

Four product families are made there: the L-Series precision spraying drones, the S-Series seed and granule spreaders, the C-Series high-pressure cleaning drones, and the M-Series cargo and multifunction platforms. Industrial cleaning is the company's fastest-growing segment, according to DroneDJ. The expansion follows a €7 million funding round closed in January 2026, led by Vsquared Ventures with participation from Day One Capital and Assembly Ventures. ABZ says its aircraft now operate in more than 40 countries and regions across six continents.

"We are building not just drones, but a European platform designed for mission-critical civilian operations — with full data sovereignty and the after-sales infrastructure that professional users need to operate at scale," chief executive and co-founder Károly Ludvigh told DroneDJ.

Why a European sprayer plant matters

Heavy agricultural drones are the one civilian category where Chinese manufacturers have the least competition. DRONELIFE reported in March 2026 that DJI alone had roughly 400,000 agricultural drones in use worldwide as of 2025, with XAG the other large supplier. Ludvigh told the same publication that ABZ is "basically the only alternative to the Chinese manufacturers in this heavy-duty action drone segment".

That matters to operators for reasons beyond origin. A large-tank sprayer is a consumable industrial machine: it flies several hours a day in dust and chemical spray, and spare parts, pumps, nozzles and battery packs decide whether it earns money. A second manufacturing base inside the European Union shortens that supply chain for European contractors, and it gives buyers in jurisdictions that restrict Chinese-made equipment a route to the same class of aircraft.

The category itself is not new. The directory files agricultural work across shapes that have little in common: the Yamaha R-MAX uncrewed helicopter, fixed-wing survey and treatment aircraft such as the Idetec AG WING, and the multirotor sprayers that DJI and its rivals turned into a volume product. ABZ's L-Series sits in that last group, scaled up.

The American condition

On 12 June 2026 the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau announced, in Public Notice DA 26-585, that the Department of War had granted a Conditional Approval to "ABZ Innovation Kft.'s L50 Uncrewed Aircraft System", exempting it from the Covered List. The exemption was stated as terminating on 31 December 2026.

That end date is gone. A National Security Determination transmitted to the Commission on 21 July 2026, published with Public Notice DA 26-761, removed the December 2026 expiry for foreign-produced UAS Conditional Approvals. In its place the Department of War determined that such devices do not pose unacceptable risks "for as long as the applicant for Conditional Approval abides by the onshoring plan outlined in its application and pursuant to updated vetting of the products". The same notice states that the approval terminates, and the equipment is restored to the Covered List, if the applicant fails to adhere to that plan or made a false statement in its application.

The practical effect is that ABZ's American sales are open-ended but conditional. Ludvigh told DroneXL that non-military drone production in the United States will begin during 2027; no state, site or partner has been named. The same report puts the domestic-content threshold ABZ would need to clear for domestic end product status at 65 per cent — the FCC notice ties that status to the Buy American Standard at 48 CFR § 25.101(a).

What to watch

Three things will show whether the plant does what ABZ says it will: output, measurable against the 2,000-unit single-shift figure; a named US location and partner during 2027, or a slip; and the FCC Covered List itself, whose Conditional Approvals appendix is the public record of whether the L50's exemption still holds.

Frequently asked questions

What does ABZ Innovation make?

Heavy multirotor drones for agricultural spraying (L-Series), seed and granule spreading (S-Series), high-pressure industrial cleaning (C-Series), and cargo and multifunction carrying (M-Series). The company was founded in 2021 and is based in Szentendre, Hungary.

Is the ABZ L50 legal to sell in the United States?

Yes, under a Conditional Approval granted by the Department of War and reflected by the FCC in June 2026, which exempts the L50 from the Covered List. Since July 2026 that exemption has no fixed expiry date but depends on ABZ following the onshoring plan in its application.

What is the FCC Covered List?

A list of equipment the FCC has determined poses an unacceptable risk to US national security. All uncrewed aircraft systems and UAS critical components produced in a foreign country were added on 22 December 2025, which blocks new equipment authorisations for them unless a specific exemption applies.

How large is the new factory?

DroneXL reports 1,060 m², with capacity for 2,000 aircraft a year on one shift and 3,500 on two. DRONELIFE and DroneDJ both report it is about four times the size of ABZ's previous production site.

Does ABZ compete with DJI on farm drones?

In the same segment, yes, though at a different scale. DJI had roughly 400,000 agricultural drones in service worldwide as of 2025 by DRONELIFE's account; ABZ's new plant is sized for thousands per year.