Fort Collins drone-maker Scion UAS raising new funding, prepping for new product

FORT COLLINS – The owners of drone-maker Scion UAS are looking to raise up to $6 million in equity funding as they get set to unveil a new helicopter at the Experimental Aircraft Association Airventure Oshkosh airshow in Wisconsin next month.

The fundraising was disclosed recently in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission under a new entity called Scion Helicopters LLC. Jim Sampson, one of Scion’s co-founders, declined to comment on the funding. According to the filing, no money has been raised as of yet.

Scion makes an optionally piloted helicopter drone that is capable of autonomous takeoff and landing from a moving platform. It also makes a smaller unmanned version. Last summer, the company delivered a pair of the larger Jackal systems to the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory as part of a $3 million contract with the government agency.

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The company is touting its drones as useful to a variety of customers, including the Coast Guard, because of their ability to land and take off from a ship.

Other than teasing next month’s unveiling, Sampson said he couldn’t comment on the new aircraft the company is developing. But he said Scion is receiving good interest on its first two, with a pair of orders coming in this week for the smaller Weasel aircraft, which sells for about $350,000 and is aimed at agriculture and utility customers among others.