Our Company.

Big Drone was founded by long-term business partners with deep expertise in design and development, who identified a critical gap in the saturated unmanned aircraft market.

Recognising that existing platforms failed to meet emerging operational demands—particularly in cost-efficiency, modularity, and endurance—they launched a solution tailored to address these unmet needs. We’ve assembled a team of specialists with lifelong careers in aviation.

Their depth of experience and technical expertise is driving the development of an aircraft with unprecedented capability. As we advance the BD150 and future designs, Big Drone will continue to recruit talented, motivated individuals who share our vision for innovation in unmanned systems.

Our Focus.

Our priority has been to design a UAS to perform tasks more efficiently and safer than current conventional manned aircraft. Additionally, the cost of executing certain missions with manned aircraft, or many UAVs is drastically reduced by operating the BD150.

The Big Drone team brings extensive and diverse experience across the aviation sector. We possess the technical expertise to design and develop UAS platforms that deliver effective solutions for a wide range of applications. We have a streamlined design philosophy with realistic cost parameters.

Our Mission.

To deliver a simple, robust, low-cost, long-range, and flexible Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) suitable for a wide range of civil and military applications.

Our Vision.

We value creating unmanned aerial systems that are simple to operate, dependable in any environment, affordable to own, capable of long-range missions, and adaptable to both civil and military needs.

Meet the Team.

Get to know the passionate minds and skilled hands driving our innovations a dedicated team
committed to turning bold ideas into airborne reality.

  • Wally Thomson

    Founder, Director, Head of Engineering

    Wal has undertaken several senior roles in engineering management and has been the Managing Director of a successful CASA-accredited design organisation for more than 30 years. He has designed several sophisticated drones and UAS over the years.

  • Michael Edwards

    Founder, Director & Chief Executive Officer

    Mic is an ex-military and civil experimental test pilot who has occupied senior lead roles in some major aircraft development projects. Recently, he was the Airbus Head of Flight Operations Support and Safety Director for the Asia Pacific Region.

  • Martin Woods

    Chief Commercial Officer

    Martin has spent over 30 years in Sales, Marketing and Consulting including over 20 years in marketing at Airbus with 10 years heading Airbus marketing in the APAC market. Martin has a proven track record of formulating and executing multi million dollar sales and marketing campaigns.

  • Yu-Min Pang

    Head of Design

    Yu-Min leads a Team of 5 Design Engineers involved with the BD150 within Thomson Design. He has over 15 years experience as an Aerospace Engineer on several programs with BAE Systems and UTC Aerospace Systems. More recently in the past 14 years his experience has extended to the Unmanned Aircraft Systems industry having been involved in design, integration and testing in various UAS programs in the Pacific Rim.

  • Philippe Mengual

    Chief Operations Officer

    Philippe recently left Airbus as the APAC lead for Field Service Engineering support within Airbus. He is an expert in SMS and engineering QA so is ideally suited to conduct a similar role for Big Drone to oversee our compliance as we adopt an accredited international production standard.

  • Johnathan Black

    Business Development Europe

    Jonny is an ex-Airbus Test Pilot who remains current on A320, A321, A330 and A350 aircraft and resides between Scotland and Germany. He has been involved in many development projects over the years and brings a wealth of experience in assisting with the development of the Big Drone business within Europe.

Roles & Missions: Drones Built for Every Aerial Challenge.

Our aircraft offers superior range, extended endurance, and a greater effective payload than others in its class.

  • Surveillance

    Optics capture unseen wavelengths, including heat, with a compact day-night camera.

  • Cargo Delivery

    Deliver packages up to 500km with 25kg load capacity, ensuring return to take-off point.

  • Search and Rescue

    Purpose-built for search and rescue, combining sensors with life-saving delivery capability.

  • Fire Management

    Designed specifically for bushfire prevention through controlled burning operations, ensuring safety and protection.