Our work

The proof is in what has flown, shipped, and scaled.

Ascendant combines current engineering and manufacturing programs with more than a decade of product experience delivered by its team, including work performed through Guinn Partners.

Discuss a Similar Program
  • 60+ products supported
  • 14+ years of drone programs
  • Engineering through production
  • Aircraft, subsystems, software, and manufacturing
  • Austin-based team

Programs delivered by our team, including through Guinn Partners.

The range

Aircraft that fly the job they were built for.

The same engineering and production work, in the places it is used.

Two operators in uniform in open desert, one at the controls of a small quadcopter hovering above them, name tapes obscured

In the field

Aircraft that leave the bench.

Every program below ends with somebody holding the controls.

Current programs

What we are building now

Four programs we are working on today, each marked with its status and what kind of program it is: a customer engagement, an internal development program, a partnership, or a concept.

Status
Work in progress
Program type
Customer engagement

DfM and LRIP support, with DZYNE Technologies

Design for manufacturing and low-rate initial production on Blitz: helping a drone program move from engineering intent toward production readiness.

Read the program
Status
In development
Program type
Internal development

Modular FPV UAS

Rapidly deployable, modular, field-serviceable systems built around U.S. supply-chain priorities.

Read the program
Status
In production
Program type
Internal development

MoonTower for Drones

The software and connected-device layer under drone operations: telemetry, fleet and device management, over-the-air updates, support and reporting.

Read the program
Status
In development
Program type
Internal development

Toward an NDAA-compliant radio link and controller

Reliable video, telemetry and control links to replace systems that depend on a foreign supply chain.

Read the program

Featured case study

MoonTower for Drones

The software and connected-device layer under drone operations: telemetry, fleet and device management, over-the-air updates, support and reporting.

A person holding a multirotor aircraft in both hands, its arms extended and propeller blades folded back, with a dual-sensor camera payload at the front
Program context
Internal development. Deployed and running for customers today.
The problem it answers
Many drone companies underestimate what it costs to build their own fleet management, telemetry, update, support and device infrastructure, in months as much as in money. It is a platform problem, and it is the same platform problem each time.
Our role
Ours end to end: the platform, the integrations and the operations.
What can be shown
The dashboard is shown running a customer fleet on our home page, with that customer's permission.
Where it is going
The aim is to offer MoonTower both on its own and built into our own aircraft, kits and radio systems, so a customer can take the layer without taking the hardware, or take both.
Attribution and permissions
An Ascendant program.

Work performed

  • Telemetry streaming and buffering
  • Fleet and device management
  • Over-the-air firmware and software updates
  • Customer, user, device and license management
  • Operational dashboards
  • Support ticketing
  • Anomaly and watchdog services
  • Mission planning and logging
  • Field-test data management
Read the whole program

By what was done

Find the work, not the market

The five kinds of work carried by a program here, and which one carries each.

Subsystem development
Flight testing
Design for manufacturing
Manufacturing and LRIP
Connected software

Team experience

Experience that predates the Ascendant name

Fourteen years of drone programs, from 2012, each one for the company named on it.

Work delivered by members of the Ascendant team, including through Guinn Partners and prior companies.

  1. 2012

    DJI

    Designed and launched category-defining camera drones, building deep expertise in engineering, productization, and high-volume manufacturing.

  2. 2015

    3DR

    Developed the Solo drone and helped scale an American drone platform from engineering through commercial launch.

  3. 2016

    Hangar

    Built autonomous flight software connecting drones to repeatable enterprise data collection and fleet operations.

  4. 2017

    Vantage Robotics

    Designed and fabricated field-ready cases and developed technical manuals and operator training for Vantage Robotics’ U.S.-made TRACE and Vision systems.

  5. 2018

    LIFT Aircraft

    Supported HEXA “Flying Car” development, flight testing, and launch on its path to U.S. serial production.

    A large multirotor aircraft standing in a city plaza, seen from below
  6. 2019

    Doosan

    Helped finalize and launch hydrogen-powered drones and a refueling network.

  7. 2020

    Teal

    Shaped the product vision and market strategy for an American-made tactical drone platform.

    Two operators in the field, one flying a small drone from a handheld controller
  8. 2021

    Ring

    Designed, engineered, and built Amazon Ring’s autonomous indoor security drone, from prototype through tested multi-unit builds.

  9. 2022

    AirSelfie

    Helped develop and commercialize a pocket-sized camera drone designed for scalable consumer production.

  10. 2025

    Blitz

    Co-developed Blitz with DZYNE Technologies, advancing a tactical drone toward U.S. production.

    A fixed-wing aircraft with a single tail boom and a pusher propeller, seen from above
  11. 2026

    NASA

    Developing IMPRESS, a low-cost modular Mars probe swarm engineered in Texas for flight testing.

Have a similar technical or production challenge?

Tell us where your program stands and what is in the way. A program lead will review the request and propose a 30-minute technical discovery call.

Discuss Your Program