Tekever announces military drone factory in Cahors, southwest France

In mid-2025, Tekever, a Portuguese defence-technology company, announced plans to establish a production site for military drones in Cahors, a town in the Lot department of southwestern France.

Tekever, founded in Lisbon, builds unmanned aircraft used for surveillance and reconnaissance, including its AR3 and AR5 models, and had become one of Europe's best-known drone makers. The company had already attracted attention for supplying systems to several armed forces and for reaching a valuation above one billion euros.

The project mattered for two reasons. For France, it promised industrial activity and skilled jobs in a rural area far from the country's main defence hubs. For Europe, it fitted a wider push to expand domestic drone and munitions manufacturing, as governments sought to rely less on outside suppliers and to strengthen their armed forces after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The announcement set the stage for the factory's later official opening.