Onshoring the parts behind America’s drone motors
How Vertiq scaled component supply for its Blue UAS-approved propulsion modules as the US drone industry reshored its supply chain – with no capex on Vertiq’s side.
1st
Motor + ESC combination approved to DIU’s Blue UAS Framework
9–36″
Propeller range in inches across the module lineup
$0
Capex on Vertiq’s side to scale its component supply
The Challenge
Vertiq builds propulsion modules for American and allied drones, integrating a motor, ESC, embedded position sensor, and proprietary control firmware into a single unit. Vertiq spun out of the University of Pennsylvania’s GRASP Lab and designs and builds its products in Philadelphia, PA. Vertiq’s 81-08 G2 was the first motor-and-ESC combination approved for the Defense Innovation Unit’s Blue UAS Framework, and its work on underactuated propulsion has been supported by AFWERX SBIR awards.
For years, the US drone industry relied heavily on Chinese components because there was little pressure to source elsewhere. That has changed rapidly. The Treasury Department sanctioned T-Motor, the world’s largest drone motor manufacturer, over sales to Russia. The FCC has added foreign-made drones and components to its Covered List, with the Blue UAS and Buy American carve-outs set to expire January 1, 2027, while DoD compliance requirements increasingly extend to the subcomponent level. As US drone OEMs reshore their propulsion supply chains, there is a short list of suppliers that can fulfill the demand. Vertiq is one of them.
Mike McGraw
Supply Chain Manager
That pressure is now moving one tier down the supply chain. A propulsion module carries its own bill of materials: machined housings, wound stators, covers, shrouds, mounts, arms, connectors, and propellers. As the industry reshores motor production, motor manufacturers must reshore and scale their component supply chains alongside it, while meeting expected lead times and navigating frequent design changes.
Vertiq’s supply chain is therefore focused on two priorities:
Priority 01
Sourcing components that can support increasingly stringent Blue UAS and domestic content requirements
Priority 02
Building a supplier base that scales with the company rather than becoming a constraint on growth
The Solution
Jiga runs the custom component supply around Vertiq’s motors across US shops: flexible printed covers in glass-filled nylon that wrap the motor body, machined housings and mounts, brackets and integration hardware.
Suppliers hold dedicated machine capacity on Vertiq’s material and nest its part families to protect lead time. Quick-turn machine shops carry first articles, production shops take the lots as customer programs convert. Jiga is the single supplier of record on one set of terms, and Vertiq’s engineers and quality team talk directly with the people running their parts.
Some of Vertiq’s parts refuse to inspect like a machined billet. A flexible printed cover conforms when installed on the motor, so calipers and even laser scans flag arc deviation the assembly never sees. First articles get measured, production gets gated by fit, and inspection cost stays out of the piece price.
“Engineering comes to me and says, we want prototypes for this product, these are our requirements. Go do what you do and come back to us with quotes and it feels like we have that information in front of us at the snap of a finger.”
The results
No capex on Vertiq’s side
Its component supply grows shop by shop with no capex on Vertiq’s side.
Qualified alternates
Qualified alternates stand behind each part family.
One system throughout
The supplier of record, terms, and quality criteria stay constant from first article through production release.
Sourcing ahead of demand
Quotes standing before POs exist, capacity sized before the surge, US content deepening as the 2027 requirements arrive.
“The relationship we have with Jiga is fantastic, to be flat out honest.”
