Delair-Tech, a specialist in professional drones, has announced the purchase of Gatewing, Trimble’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) engineering and manufacturing business based in Belgium. The acquisition represents the latest move by the French firm to consolidate its position in the commercial UAS market and ultimately become a leading global player.

The company has also signed a strategic alliance agreement to partner with Trimble as its preferred provider of UAS solutions.

Delair-Tech’s new acquisition will strengthen the teams that design and produce the company’s industrial mini-drones with the inclusion of the technical staff based in Ghent (Belgium). The company will also increase its total workforce to 100 employees, marking its place as one of the main players in the global professional drone market.

Delair-Tech also announced that it is teaming up with Microdrones, an established supplier of multirotor systems, to offer a comprehensive range of products. They will jointly become official suppliers for Trimble’s worldwide distribution network, which sells UAS and image-processing systems to the construction, agriculture, transport, geomatics and energy sectors.

Delair-Tech currently offers UAV packages, including data processing and analytics, based on its DT18 and DT26 fixed-wing drones.