Best Military Drone Stocks to Watch in 2026: AI & Modern Warfare - MarketWise

Best Military Drone Stocks to Watch as Global Conflicts Rise

By David Engle| March 27, 2026

Since the United States and Israel attacked Iran as part of Operation Epic Fury in early March, drone warfare has played a major role in the daily battles taking place in the Middle East.

Going back just a few months, 2026 began with literal fireworks when, on January 3, the U.S. conducted a military strike on Venezuela and seized President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. A key component of that strike? Military drones.

We’re barely into spring, and military drones – also known as unmanned (or uncrewed) aerial vehicles (“UAVs”) – have already played a prominent role in two major global conflicts.

Military drones are now the primary weapons for several countries… most prominently, the U.S., Ukraine, and Iran.

And that puts military drone stocks in the spotlight as the fighting continues.

The Prominent Role of Military Drones in the Middle East and Venezuela

Drones have been the Iran’s primary method of attack, especially as Operation Epic Fury commenced in early March.

But they’re not using high-cost, AI-equipped drones.

Instead, Iran is deploying Shahed-136 loitering munition systems (also known as “kamikaze” drones) that measure roughly 12 feet long and eight feet wide and can reach speeds of 115 miles per hour. Once airborne, the Shahed drone can travel up to 1,500 miles. And it uses GPS to locate its target.

The interesting thing about these drones? They’re about as basic as drones get.

They can be fired off the back of a truck. And they cost around $35,000 to make.

For comparison, the cheapest drone made by American defense titan Lockheed Martin(LMT) – the “Speed Racer” drone – costs somewhere between $1 million and $2 million each.

Iran is certainly making plenty of these Shahed-136 models. As of late March, more than 70% of Iran’s recorded retaliatory strikes have come from drones.

They’ve been used as primary weaponry to target U.S. military bases and neighboring Gulf States like the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait. Sadly, a Shahed drone attack is what killed six American service members in Kuwait on March 1.

Even as the U.S. targets drone-manufacturing facilities, Iran is expected to continue building the Shahed drones because they’re generally made with off-the-shelf parts and 3D-printed materials. That means they can be constructed pretty much anywhere.

Somewhat ironically, the United States mimicked the design of the Shahed kamikaze drone to create its own mass-produced, cheap weapons. They’re called Low-cost Uncrewed Combat Attack Systems… better known as LUCAS. So, the U.S. is now essentially using Iranian-designed weapons to fight Iran.

As for the military operation in Venezuela in early January, the U.S. took a much different approach.

The Pentagon never officially confirmed which types of UAVs