Palladyne AI Appoints Former MARSOC Commander and U.S. Special Operations Command Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Mark A. "Droopy" Clark (Ret.) to Defense Advisory Board

Marine aviator and career special operator who commanded MARSOC joins Palladyne AI as it advances collaborative autonomy, low-cost attritable systems, and combat-proven loitering munitions for the Department of War

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Palladyne AI Corp. (NASDAQ: PDYN), a U.S.-based defense and industrial technology company delivering embodied AI-powered collaborative autonomy solutions, advanced avionics, precision-manufactured components, UAVs, and advanced aerospace engineering services, today announced the appointment of Maj. Gen. Mark A. “Droopy” Clark, USMC (Ret.), to its Defense Advisory Board.

Clark’s command of Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) and his prior service as Director of Operations and Chief of Staff at U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) give Palladyne AI direct line of sight into how MARSOC and the broader special operations community define, evaluate, and field new technology. His experience will help inform how Palladyne AI applies and positions its portfolio of low-cost, attritable systems and the components that enable them, coupled with SwarmOS™ collaborative autonomy software, for the direct action, special reconnaissance, and distributed operations MARSOC executes.

“Special operations forces operate in environments where complexity, time pressure, and communications constraints are the norm,” said Clark. “The next generation of autonomous systems must make small teams more effective without adding complexity for the operator. Palladyne AI’s focus on edge autonomy, collaborative systems, and practical human-machine teaming is aligned with the kind of capability the force needs as autonomous operations scale.”

"Gen. Clark joins us at a pivotal moment," said Ben Wolff, President and Chief Executive Officer of Palladyne AI. "Palladyne AI is building a vertically integrated capability for the U.S. Department of War that includes collaborative autonomy, the systems and munitions it commands, and the American manufacturing base behind them. Leaders of Gen. Clark’s caliber choose to advise Palladyne AI because they believe in that capability and its potential for the mission."

Clark joins a growing roster of retired general and flag officers on Palladyne AI’s Defense Advisory Board whose firsthand command experience informs the Company’s technology development, customer engagement, and fielding strategies for advanced autonomous systems.

Palladyne AI’s defense portfolio pairs SwarmOS, its collaborative autonomy software that lets a single operator command a heterogeneous team of unmanned systems at the edge, without continuous centralized control, with the low-cost attritable systems that mission sets demand. These include Gremlin-X™, a next-generation reusable mini-bomber; SwarmStrike™, an autonomous precision-strike weapons platform; and the combat-proven HARPY, HAROP, and Mini HARPY loitering munitions Palladyne AI will manufacture and integrate for the U.S. Department of War through its partnership with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

About Palladyne AI

Palladyne AI is a U.S.-based technology company developing patented embodied artificial intelligence, collaborative autonomy solutions, and autonomous systems for defense and industrial markets. Palladyne AI delivers secure, American-developed and operated platforms designed to meet the stringent requirements of U.S. government and public-sector customers, including data sovereignty, security, and compliance.

Palladyne AI’s embodied AI is designed to operate in complex, contested, and high-risk environments, enabling distributed tasking, human-on-the-loop decision-making, degraded-communications resilience, and multi-domain coordination. Its platform-agnostic autonomy stack combines real-time sensor fusion, adaptive AI models, and edge-native orchestration to support autonomous and collaborative systems across air, ground, maritime, and industrial domains. For more information about Palladyne AI, including GuideTech and Palladyne Aerospace and Defense, please visit www.palladyneai.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the speed and cost efficiency at which Palladyne AI can bring systems into service; future systems, including the manufacture and integration of IAI’s systems; and U.S. defense needs and priorities and the ability of Palladyne AI’s technology and products to meet those needs. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Generally, statements that are not historical facts, including statements concerning possible or assumed future actions, business strategies, events, or results of operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements may be preceded by, followed by, or include the words “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “projects,” “forecasts,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “plans,” “scheduled,” “anticipates,” “intends” or “continue” or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results, or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. These forward-looking statements are based on Palladyne AI’s management’s current expectations and beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions concerning future events. However, there can be no assurance that the events, results, or trends identified in these forward-looking statements will occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Palladyne AI is not under any obligation and expressly disclaims any obligation, to update, alter or otherwise revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

Readers should carefully review the statements set forth in the reports which Palladyne AI has filed or will file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), in particular the risks and uncertainties set forth in the sections of those reports entitled “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” for a description of risks facing Palladyne AI and that could cause actual events, results or performance to differ from those indicated in the forward-looking statements contained herein. The documents filed by Palladyne AI with the SEC may be obtained free of charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Palladyne AI Investor Contact:
Brian S. Siegel, IRC®, M.B.A.
Senior Managing Director, Hayden IR – Chicago
(346) 396-8696
brian@haydenir.com
IR@palladyneai.com

Palladyne AI Press Contact:
Heath Meyer
(858) 768-1527
PR@palladyneai.com