AEVEX (AVEX) closed its acquisition of BlackSea Technologies on Sept. 9, 2026, during a presentation at the Jefferies Global Industrials Conference in New York, announcing that the deal positions the unmanned systems company as the largest pure-play multi-domain defense firm in the United States.
The Tampa-based company, which has been in business for nearly two decades, reported trailing-twelve-month revenue of $697 million and LTM EBITDA of $103.77 million. Fiscal 2026 revenue is on track for nearly 100% year-over-year growth, though analyst consensus forecasts 64% growth for the full fiscal year.
More than 95% of fiscal 2026 revenue is already locked in funded backlog, with the remaining 5% expected to come through incremental funding and proposals. First-half 2026 bookings exceeded $150 million.
CEO Roger Wells, who took over as chief executive in October 2025 after serving as president since April, said the company maintains "strong conviction" in its fiscal 2026 revenue and margin outlook. AEVEX's current ratio stands at 5.66.
EBITDA margins expanded by more than 1,000 basis points year over year. Tactical systems margins reached 17% in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, while overall EBITDA margins came in around 14%, with Wells outlining a medium-term target above 20%.
Operational throughput increased more than 114% as the company scaled production across its product lines.
The BlackSea Technologies acquisition adds approximately $150 million in annual revenue with EBITDA margins in line with AEVEX's existing profile. The deal also brings a 47,000-square-foot deep water port facility in Baltimore, Maryland, complementing AEVEX's existing 100,000-square-foot Tampa campus and an additional 83,000 square feet recently secured there.
Wells described the company's differentiated technology stack, CompassX, as enabling assured precision navigation, timing, autonomy, collaboration and mission execution in contested environments. The product portfolio includes Mako and Mako Lite small unmanned surface vessels, next-generation Comet and Chaser USVs, and the GARC and LYNX unmanned surface platforms.
The company also holds a $250 million contract for the Seabed Petroleum Distribution System (SPDS), while legacy UCOM Deep Strike revenue is rolling off through fiscal 2026. Excluding UCOM, Wells estimated the remaining legacy business at roughly $325 million.
AEVEX said it has deployed more than 9,000 systems to Ukraine since 2022, generating over $1.2 billion in revenue from its modern drone warfare program. Wells noted that operational activity in Ukraine and the Middle East validates the role of autonomous multi-domain unmanned systems in future military operations.
The qualified opportunities pipeline grew to $10.5 billion from $8.1 billion at the start of the year, reflecting demand across system groups ranging from Small Group 1 quadcopters to Group 4 and 5 long-endurance ISR aircraft, along with Group 2 and 3 kinetic strike capabilities. Long-range precision strike systems are designed with ranges above 500 kilometers and 200 kilometers.
International wins were cited in Chile, Lithuania and Finland. On-water and underwater unmanned vessels discussed range from 30 to 70 feet.
ADAM SAMUELSON, senior vice president on Jefferies' aerospace and defense equity research team, moderated the session.
AEVEX has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion.
