From volunteer project to professional manufacturer.

Aquadrone started as a volunteer initiative under Stichting Protect Ukraine: a small Dutch engineering team supplying an unmanned surface vehicle to the Ukrainian Armed Forces when one was needed and no one else was building it. That first platform — the 50hp River Whale with thermal and day cameras, controlled over Starlink and short-range RF — is now in operational service.

We are now scaling that work up and professionalising it. The River Whale is moving from craft assembly to series production. In parallel, we are developing the Sea Whale: a 250hp modular platform with a 700 km cargo range and aircraft-standard cargo rails, so anything can be built on top of it.

We build for operators. Every decision is grounded in what the people using these vehicles actually need on the water.

In March 2026, Aquadrone founder Martijn Otten was awarded the Prins Friso Ingenieursprijs 2026 — the Netherlands' Engineer of the Year — for coupling technical excellence to societal responsibility through the Protect Ukraine Aquadrone project. The full story lives on the Concept page.

Why we do this, and what it contributes to Dutch and European security, defence, innovation and industry — read the Mission & Vision.