Redwire Corporation is preparing to equip Croatia’s Border Patrol with a new fleet of advanced uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) to enhance surveillance and strengthen rapid-response capabilities along national borders. The acquisition is funded through the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), reflecting the EU’s growing effort to support member states in securing difficult land and maritime frontiers. Under the contract, Redwire’s subsidiary Edge Autonomy will deliver the Penguin C VTOL UAS, integrated with Octopus high-performance gimbal cameras.
The new systems will provide Croatian authorities with long-range monitoring, persistent surveillance, and improved detection of illegal border crossings and other potential threats. The Penguin C VTOL drones have already demonstrated strong performance in other Frontex-supported operations, particularly in Poland and Greece. In those deployments, Edge Autonomy’s vertical-takeoff drones were used extensively to monitor rugged terrain, maritime approaches, and smuggling routes, proving highly effective in search-and-rescue missions and anti-trafficking operations.
Croatia’s procurement of Penguin C VTOL platforms marks a significant step in the country’s ongoing modernization of aerial border surveillance. The aircraft’s runway-independent VTOL capability allows for deployment in remote or confined areas, while the Octopus payload delivers high-resolution imagery and real-time transmission, enabling border officers to react faster to emerging threats. These upgrades will complement existing assets and improve the overall responsiveness of field teams.
The new systems join an expanding inventory of Croatian surveillance tools, which previously included the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 for coastal and maritime patrols and SenseFly eBee fixed-wing drones for monitoring forested border zones. The addition of Penguin C drones provides greater flexibility for long-endurance missions and operations in terrain where traditional fixed-wing UAS struggle. This initiative also aligns with broader national efforts, including upgrades to Croatia’s Adriatic maritime radar network and the integration of UAV intelligence into the state’s border command-and-control system.
