Croatian Orqa, known for developing FPV (first-person view) drone technology and unmanned aerial systems, has raised €12.7 million in a Series A funding round.
The round is led by Expeditions, a fund specializing in early-stage investments in the European security sector. It also includes participation from the Croatian fund AYMO Ventures, as well as international investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, Taiwania Capital, and Radius Capital.
According to the company, the newly secured funding will be used to accelerate Orqa’s global expansion, particularly by scaling up production capabilities, strengthening research and development, and expanding its workforce. The company is also considering strategic acquisitions and plans to increase manufacturing capacity in both Europe and the United States, with part of the funds also being invested in a new brand strategy.
In late 2024, the company has secured a €5.8 million round with support from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Radius Capital, Decisive Point, Day One Capital. Their total funding amounts to €20.41 million.
The role of affordable drones in modern warfare
Orqa was founded in late 2018 by Srdjan Kovacevic, Ivan Jelusic, and Vlatko Matijevic. Since then, Orqa has developed a broader ecosystem of FPV hardware, digital video transmission systems, and software solutions used by professional drone operators, enthusiasts, and increasingly by defense and security organizations.
As the technology has evolved, the founders have also become vocal about the changing role of drones in modern security and defense systems. In a previous interview with The Recursive, co-founder Srđan Kovačević argued that current air-defense approaches are poorly adapted to the rise of inexpensive unmanned aerial threats.
“NATO’s current systems aren’t able to provide sustained protection against low-cost unmanned aerial threats. Using a €100k missile to shoot down a €30k drone clearly isn’t sustainable. We need to rethink air defense and adapt it to a reality where massive air strikes are no longer the privilege of top-tier powers,” said Kovačević.
According to him, the practical transformation of modern land forces would require integrating organic unmanned capabilities directly into military units. This would involve equipping every manoeuvre battalion across NATO armies with attritable short- and medium-range reconnaissance drones, as well as low-cost precision strike drones.
“This type of organic unmanned capability is simple, effective, and can be achieved quickly and cheaply,” he explained.
