Performance Drone Works' new Drone Factory 01 in Huntsville, Alabama. Photo: PDW

Performance Drone Works (PDW), which last week received a conditional loan commitment from the Defense Department to supercharge its capacity and capabilities for making key drone components, expects to support domestic production of one million small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) annually, the company’s chief executive said. The $820 million loan should be finalized in the next three to six months and at that point it will take about two years to further expand, boost capacity and acquire the talent to…