WED AM News: Rownd showcases military drone tech in Hartford; Charter Manufacturing Co. planning $5M Mequon expansion

October 28, 2026

— Autonomous drone startup Rownd kicked off its Wisconsin-based R&D program with an airborne demonstration in Hartford, showcasing technologies for the U.S. military.

“We are going to give our military the best weapons in the world,” CEO and co-founder Rob Thelen said yesterday during a press conference at Hartford Municipal Airport in Washington County. “We have a vision of building and making Wisconsin a drone and autonomy center of excellence.”

Following initial remarks from Thelen, U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald and local flight instructor Steve Krog, attendees gathered outside the small CubAir Flight School hangar to observe the Rownd drones in action. While the company has larger fixed-wing machines, yesterday’s demo focused on the surveillance capability of its smaller quadcopter drones.

After his team set them up in front of the small crowd, Thelen gave a verbal command, sending one of the drones about 30 meters into the air where it briefly hovered in place. The machine then began to fly slowly around the airfield, where other planes were also landing and taking off.

While it was in the air, Thelen showed attendees the operations panel on a laptop that was receiving images from the drone. He explained it can differentiate between people and various types of machinery such as vehicles, giving its military operators real-time battlefield insights.

Thanks to the AI framework underpinning the Rownd system, a single operator can run multiple drones at once. They can also learn from their missions to improve performance over time, Thelen explained.

“It’s like having a sergeant in your pocket,” he said.

Along with surveilling the surrounding area, these self-guided AI drones can also carry out attacks as well as counter-drone warfare when facing adversaries with similar technology.

“We just got a contract for anti-drone as well, so we can actually put a small shotgun underneath there basically and go hunt down other drones,” Thelen said.

He added the company is “moving very quickly” on existing contracts with several branches of the military. Rownd leaders will be headed to Florida and Wyoming in the coming weeks for drone exercises, giving potential users the chance to try the technology

Fitzgerald, a Republican who represents the state’s 5th CD, yesterday touted the Trump administration’s emphasis on upping domestic production of drones as well as counter-drone applications for homeland security and active warzones.

“This would provide our warfighters one more tool in their toolkit that they’re going to need in the future,” he said.

Thelen said the company’s in-state R&D program is working toward multiple technical goals, including making the drones as affordable as possible to produce and get into the hands of soldiers. That involves using 3D printers to make part of the frame and cutting labor costs.

Meanwhile, Rownd is continuing development of its constantly evolving AI-based autonomous operation software. And the team is working on further improving their ability to combat other drones — in a controlled fashion, Thelen noted.

“We’re not going to be shooting them out of the sky, over the skies of Wisconsin. Any farmers, we’re not going to be shooting deer or anything like that … please don’t ask again,” he quipped. “But what we are going to be testing is being able to actually track the drones and chase them down.”

Ultimately, Thelen said he wants to ensure the U.S. military can exceed the drone capabilities of adversaries around the world, in hopes of preventing aggression and saving lives.

“It’s something that’s going to make us so intimidating to our enemies that they won’t even dare to invade an island chain … that’s what we’re working on, and we’re trying to do it as fast as we can,” he said. “Being a veteran myself, we want to make sure we protect our brothers and sisters in arms as much as we can.”

Hear more about the company in the latest WisBusiness podcast.

— Charter Manufacturing Company can earn up to $200,000 in state income tax credits for a planned $5 million expansion of its Mequon headquarters, WEDC announced.

The fourth-generation family-owned metals manufacturer has been operating for 90 years as of this year, according to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., which is touting the company’s plan to further invest in the state. The expansion includes more office capacity and space for training workers.

WEDC says the business currently has 2,500 employees and expects to create 20 more jobs “over the coming years.” As with most of the agency’s tax credit deals, while the tax credit total has been authorized, the company must meet certain benchmarks for both job creation and capital investment.

“This expansion reflects our continued commitment to Wisconsin and will create more opportunities for our employees to work, learn, and grow together,” CEO John Mellowes said in a statement.

See the release.

— The USDA is providing $8.5 million for a watershed improvement project led by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.

The federal agency this week announced more than $325 million for 42 projects across the country through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program.

That includes one in Wisconsin: the Milwaukee River Basin Conservation Partnership, which involves the MMSD as lead partner as well as producer-led groups, municipalities and county land and water departments.

Project partners will work to obligate soil health and regenerative practices, protect farmland with easements, reduce phosphorus loading in the local environment with grass-based practices and more.

See the full list of projects getting funding.

— Cardinal IG has won the Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin contest for its CLiC Smart Privacy Glass, beating out more than 100 other products nominated in this year’s competition.

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, which partnered with BMO on this year’s contest, yesterday announced the privacy glass product came out on top following a bracket-style “Manufacturing Madness” tournament based on voting.

Aaron Arntson, general manager for CLiC at Cardinal IG, says the team is “absolutely thrilled” to bring the product to the residential and commercial window market from its facilities in Tomah.

“The Cardinal team has worked hard across multiple sites for the past 13+ years to develop a premium product, and we know this is only the start for CLiC!” he said in a statement provided by WMC.

See the release.

Top headlines from the Healthcare Report…

— Former Vice President Kamala Harris during a Milwaukee rally ripped GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany for voting to cut federal healthcare funding.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

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