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The Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority and Anglicotech Philippines Inc. signed an agreement to explore the development of a dual-use drone port in Casiguran, Aurora
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The estimated initial investment is $20 million (about P1.26 billion)
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The facility is envisioned as a Center of Excellence for aerial and maritime drones, covering an indicative five-hectare site within APECO
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Initial operations will focus on testing and evaluating unmanned aerial and maritime vehicles, as well as training remote pilots and operators
The Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (APECO) and Anglicotech Philippines Inc. have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore the development of a dual-use drone port in Casiguran, Aurora, with an estimated initial investment of $20 million (about P1.26 billion).
The proposed facility is envisioned as a “Center of Excellence” for aerial and maritime drones, to be developed in phases on an indicative five-hectare site within the ecozone, APECO announced.
The initial phase will cover the testing and evaluation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and maritime drones, as well as training programs for remote pilots and operators.
Subsequent phases will include mixed manned and unmanned operations of aircraft and vessels, with drone applications for logistics, disaster response, maritime surveillance and search-and-rescue operations.
The longer-term development plan also includes maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, drone manufacturing, systems integration, component production and partnerships with original equipment manufacturers.
READ: Defense supply firm Anglicotech reaffirms venture plan in Aurora ecozone
APECO president Gil Taway IV and Anglicotech president and CEO David Cooper led the MOU signing at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., during APECO’s U.S. investment mission, October 24-30, 2026.
“The country is building its own capacity to produce, service and operate advanced systems that serve both national security and civilian needs. APECO intends to be where that capacity takes root, and this drone hub is a building block of a strategic defense and technology hub on the Pacific seaboard,” Taway said.
APECO is Anglicotech’s next expansion hub
Anglicotech, a Virginia-based defense logistics company with a presence in Subic since 2024, has provided logistics, command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C5ISR), and foreign military sales support to the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the US Department of War.
The partnership with APECO is expected to establish the Casiguran-based ecozone as the company’s next expansion hub in the Philippines.
Under the MOU, Anglicotech will prepare the project’s business and site development plans, covering technical specifications, financing and operational requirements, and indicative implementation timelines.
APECO, for its part, will help identify suitable project sites and infrastructure requirements, coordinate with local government units and national government agencies, and assist Anglicotech in registering as an ecozone enterprise and accessing incentives under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) Act.
The agreement formalizes discussions between the two parties that began in 2024.
Cooper and Anglicotech Philippines country manager Edmund Rustia inspected the ecozone on August 16, 2025. A week later, during the first APECO Business Forum, Cooper proposed establishing an unmanned systems hub for Luzon centered on the APECO airstrip.
In December 2025, Anglicotech reaffirmed its commitment to the proposed development and presented a multi-phase approach, which has since been incorporated into the MOU.
APECO said the proposed project would capitalize on the ecozone’s airstrip and maritime location to support both aerial and maritime drone operations.
The airstrip, located within the ecozone, is being positioned for dual-use civilian and military operations, including procedure-based mixed operations involving manned and unmanned aircraft in Aurora’s relatively uncongested airspace.
The ecozone also fronts Casiguran Sound, whose sheltered waters provide a potential training area for maritime drones before they operate in open-sea conditions in the Pacific.
Its Pacific-facing location is also seen as an advantage for maritime surveillance and disaster response, particularly in Aurora, which is frequently exposed to typhoons.
The proposed investment is aligned with the government’s Self-Reliant Defense Posture (SRDP) Revitalization Act, or Republic Act No. 12024, which seeks to strengthen the country’s domestic capacity to produce, assemble and service strategic defense equipment.
Defense-related economic activities are included in Tiers 2 and 3 of the Strategic Investment Priority Plan, which identifies priority industries eligible for government investment incentives.
APECO is positioning itself as the country’s first national defense hub by attracting investments in defense-related industries, advanced technology and strategic infrastructure, in line with the government’s efforts to strengthen the country’s defense and maritime capabilities.
The 12,923-hectare APECO is the country’s only Pacific-facing economic zone. It is positioning itself as a Gateway to the Pacific, an alternative transshipment hub closer to major Asia-Pacific and North American markets, and a location for industries with both civilian and defense applications.
READ: APECO gets free US help to study ports, airports
