Aero Velocity has partnered with AC Future to develop a Mobile Drone Launch Vehicle platform targeting U.S. military and public-sector customers — announced alongside a pending merger that will take the drone company public via Nasdaq-listed burger chain BT Brands.
The Mobile Drone Launch Vehicle is designed for contested, infrastructure-limited environments. The platform would integrate multi-UAS launch and recovery systems, onboard power generation, secure command-and-control, and autonomous vehicle operation into a single ruggedized mobile unit. Planned mission profiles include ISR, electronic warfare, logistics resupply, and emergency response.
The partnership combines Aero Velocity’s NDAA-compliant UAV manufacturing and Drones-as-a-Service platform with AC Future’s mobile vehicle technology — the California company won a 2026 CES Innovation Award for vehicle technology. Both companies say they intend to pursue U.S. government funding, though no contracts or program of record have been announced.
The broader context is harder to ignore. Aero Velocity is merging with BT Brands, a multi-brand restaurant operator trading on Nasdaq as BTBD, in a deal expected to close in 2026 pending stockholder approval. The combined entity would operate as Aero Velocity Inc. The MDLV announcement was timed to coincide with TEVCON in San Diego.
No financial terms for the AC Future partnership were disclosed. The platform remains in development with no delivery timeline confirmed.
