DroneUp

DroneUp

Tom Walker, a former Navy nuclear engineer and Special Operations officer, founded DroneUp to address what he saw as a fragmented airspace system for drones. The company, headquartered in Virginia Beach, emerged from years of hands-on UAS operations rather than theoretical design. Walker's background includes advising Congress and testifying before the Homeland Security Subcommittee on drone threats (per firm website). DroneUp operates across two core product lines: ATOMx, an airspace management platform for authorities, and Uncrew, an autonomy platform that works with any drone. The technology stack spans cryptographic identity assurance, dynamic airspace rules, and threat mitigation — serving both government and commercial clients. Named operational capabilities include compliance with FAA Part 135, 108, and 91 regulations, and beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) deployments. Geographic footprint is primarily US-based but targets scalable deployment for national airspace modernization. The company's team includes veterans from military, law enforcement, and special operations, alongside airspace policy experts. Co-founder John Vernon, the CTO, served on the FAA rulemaking committee for BVLOS operations. DroneUp positions itself as an open modular platform without vendor lock-in, aiming to create a coordinated airspace ecosystem for both manned and unmanned aircraft. No recent fundraising or deployment events are publicly disclosed. A distinguishing structural feature is DroneUp's dual-channel approach: serving regulators and operators simultaneously, with products that work independently or as an integrated system. This contrasts with many drone software firms that focus solely on one side of the market. The company's regulatory-tech synergy model, which it calls an "agency model," offloads FAA compliance overhead for commercial clients — a rare hybrid of software and service delivery in the UAS sector.