How a Hagerstown, Maryland Aviation Manufacturer is Pioneering the US-Made Drone Program

You might not have noticed, but Hagerstown is quietly making its mark again in the aviation industry, this time with domestic drone development. First Breach Inc., a defense technologies company headquartered in Hagerstown, Maryland specializing in ammunition production and unmanned aerial systems, has announced a significant achievement: the first untethered flight of its proprietary drone prototype. This development, reported in a recent company announcement, marks a crucial step forward in the advancement of domestically manufactured unmanned systems. The successful flight demonstrates the functionality of the prototype’s airframe, propulsion, and core vehicle systems, moving the company closer to completing its initial prototypes by the fourth quarter of 2026.

“Untethered flight is the point where a drone stops being a test article and starts being a vehicle,” said Jeffrey Low, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of First Breach. “Every step we take on this program is a step toward owning the full stack, meaning the airframe, the electronics, and the manufacturing, here in the United States. This flight is a visible marker of that progress.”

The untethered flight is a pivotal moment, signifying that the drone is transitioning from a test article to a fully operational vehicle. This milestone is part of a broader strategy by First Breach to maintain full control over its technology stack, from the airframe and electronics to the manufacturing process, all within the United States. The company is also progressing with its independently developed flight controller, which is now operational with Betaflight firmware. This early success with the controller hardware lays the groundwork for its integration into future prototype iterations.

The development of the airframe and the flight controller are proceeding as separate, yet interconnected, stages of the program. Future testing will focus on integrating these components to evaluate the performance of the complete system and ensure its readiness for production. This methodical approach aims to ensure reliability and manufacturability, moving beyond single-unit development to scalable production. First Breach continues to target the completion of initial prototypes by the end of 2026, with plans to scale production in the second quarter of 2027, aiming for a capacity of over 2,500 drones weekly.

“We are proving each piece independently and then bringing them together, which is how you get to a reliable, producible vehicle rather than a one-off,” said Jordan Low, Co-Founder, President and Chief Operating Officer of First Breach. “The airframe has flown untethered. Our flight controller is running Betaflight. The next step is putting them in the same aircraft and testing them together as we work toward integrating energetics and manufacturing at scale.”

The strategic agreement between First Breach and Hellbender, Inc. is central to this initiative. Hellbender is providing engineering, design, technical support, and component manufacturing, while First Breach retains ownership of the drone platforms and their intellectual property, controlling manufacturing and commercialization. This collaboration is designed to facilitate domestic manufacturing and high-volume production. The current proof-of-concept prototype is a four-rotor, Class 1 platform weighing approximately 2.2 kg with a 500g payload capacity. It has demonstrated an effective range of 2 km, an endurance of about 10 minutes, a cruise speed of 50 km/h, and a maximum speed of 120 km/h. Navigation relies on GNSS with visual-inertial augmentation, and the control link uses 900 MHz MAVLink. The drone utilizes swappable LiPo batteries and is designed for rapid field assembly.

First Breach, an ISO 9001:2015 certified company based in Hagerstown, Maryland, is focused on producing match-grade ammunition components, finished ammunition, and developing next-generation unmanned aerial systems for various markets. Its facility in Hagerstown handles in-house manufacturing of brass cups, casings, projectiles, lead cores, lead wire, and completed ammunition. The company’s drone strategy involves developing U.S.-made unmanned systems leveraging advanced engineering, robotics, ISR, sensor technologies, and precision manufacturing for defense, homeland security, law enforcement, and commercial applications. Hellbender, Inc., based in Pittsburgh, is an engineering and advanced manufacturing firm specializing in physical AI, computer vision, drones, robotics, electronics design, and automated manufacturing. Their capabilities span engineering, prototyping, printed circuit board assembly, sensor integration, robotic manufacturing, and production testing, with a workforce that includes over 25% military veterans.

Article by Ken Buckler, based upon information from First Breach Inc.

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