GoKawiilAn unmanned aerial vehicle at the AeroVironment Inc. booth during the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference in Tampa, Florida, May 17, 2022.
Drone stocks rallied on Friday after President Donald Trump announced import tariffs in an effort to boost U.S. manufacturing and protect national security.
Unusual Machines popped 15%, while Red Cat rallied about 7%. Aerovironment and Kratos also climbed.
"U.S. drone production needs to be expanded rapidly to ensure U.S. national and economic security," the White House wrote in a release, adding that outsourcing parts poses major security and cybersecurity concerns.
The White House said the tariffs will create new jobs, while protecting U.S. national security and the defense industrial base.
The directive subjects large drones with "sensitive" military capabilities like thermal imaging to a 100% tariff and smaller drones lacking capabilities to a 25% levy. Trump slapped a 15% tariff on drones and parts from the European Union, Japan, Liechtenstein, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, and Taiwan, and 10% on those from the U.K.
Unusual Machines, which makes drones and drone components, added the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., to its advisory board in November 2024. Trump Jr. held 331,580 shares in the company as of Nov. 27, 2024.