KTK – KTEK Aerosystems Limited

Founded in 2019 by former Israel Aerospace Industries executive Dekel Keisar, who will retain a 36.4 per cent stake in the company, KTEK is positioned as a “picks and shovels” supplier in the defence supply chain, cashing in on swelling government military budgets and the rise of drone warfare.

Rather than making individual components, KTEK supplies finished systems to defence manufacturers such as Israeli drone makers UVision and Elbit Systems. It designs and engineers the technology in-house and outsources manufacturing to a network of certified aerospace company partners across Israel, Portugal, the Netherlands and the United States.

Despite its modest $28 million market cap, institutional investors are expected to hold about 50 per cent of KTEK’s free float after its ASX debut, which is scheduled for 18 May . The board and management will retain about 44 per cent of the company.

KTEK is chaired by Howard Digby, a director of Israeli-founded, Australian-listed drone communications company Elsight. Former DroneShield director Winton Willesse and Chris Baxter, an advisor to Ukrainian drone maker Skyeton, are also directors.

Keisar, KTEK founder and managing director, said strong institutional demand for the company’s IPO round was an endorsement of the fast-growing drone warfare market.

“Having grown revenue more than 300 per cent over the past two years, we are now focused on execution – scaling production, onboarding new Tier-1 customers and cementing our position within global defence supply chains,” Keisar said.