24 November 2025

By Chris "The Drone Geek" Fravel

ORQA FPV is more than just a tech company; it's a story of passionate enthusiasts in a small Croatian city, whose obsession with a flawless flight experience propelled them onto the global stage. From hobbyist gear to high-stakes defense technology, the ORQA journey is a fascinating profile in rapid, community-driven innovation.

The ORQA story doesn't begin in Silicon Valley, but in Osijek, Croatia, where it was co-founded in late 2018 by Srdjan Kovačević (CEO), Ivan Jelušić, and Vlatko Matijević. Their mission was audacious: to become the world's number one technology provider for FPV and advanced Remote Reality (RR) applications. What set them apart from the start was their deep, personal commitment to the FPV community. They weren't just executives; they were pilots themselves, intimately familiar with the frustrations of existing gear.

The company’s breakthrough moment arrived with the prototype of their flagship product, the FPV.One video goggles, unveiled at CES in Las Vegas in January 2019. The real measure of community excitement, however, came with their Kickstarter campaign in June 2019. This wasn't a slow build; it was a detonation of support. They hit their funding goal in an unbelievable two minutes and were 200% over the goal within five minutes of launch.

This explosive success wasn't just about money; it was a mandate from the heart of the FPV world, proving that pilots were hungry for a new player committed to quality. Kovačević and his team understood this loyalty, a human connection that would define the company’s early reputation. They promised to deliver a product built from the ground up, with everything engineered in-house in Osijek—from mechanical and electronics design to optics and firmware—a rarity in a market often dominated by component assembly. This "Made in Europe" label became a point of pride, distinguishing them from the Asian manufacturers who often cornered the consumer drone market.

The ORQA Ecosystem

While the FPV.One goggles launched ORQA, the company quickly demonstrated that their vision extended far beyond a single piece of hardware. They aimed to develop the entire FPV technology stack, encompassing a full ecosystem of products designed for low-latency, immersive remote control.

FPV.One Goggles: The Flagship

The FPV.One series of goggles remains their most recognized product. Designed for FPV racing and freestyle, the initial models were praised for their premium build quality, excellent optics, and intuitive menus. They offered features like a large field-of-view (FOV) and a high-definition DVR recording feature, addressing key pain points for serious pilots. Later iterations, like the FPV.One Race and FPV.One Pilot, fine-tuned the optics and features for specific pilot needs, showing a consistent effort to respond to community feedback—a true human touch.

Expanding the Horizon

ORQA’s product line grew to encompass the full range of FPV necessities:

• Orqa FPV.Ctrl Radio Controller: A dedicated radio controller, often bundled with their proprietary ImmersionRC Ghost RF system, aiming for a complete, integrated flight experience.
  
  
• Flight Electronics: This includes Flight Controller (FC) and Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) stacks, like the FC2020-F722 HD, proving their vertical integration and ability to make all the "building blocks" of a drone.
  
  
• ImmersionRC Acquisition: In a significant move in 2022, ORQA acquired ImmersionRC, a pioneering name in FPV electronics. This acquisition immediately integrated cutting-edge RF systems, such as the renowned RapidFIRE receiver module and the Ghost RF system, into the ORQA portfolio. This was not just a business deal; it was a merger of two communities, bringing decades of FPV experience under the European banner.

The Dual-Use Evolution

Perhaps the most compelling recent shift in the ORQA story is their evolution from a consumer hobbyist brand to a major player in the defense and enterprise sectors. The technology developed for immersive drone racing—ultra-low latency video, reliable long-range control—turned out to be exactly what was needed for modern unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in high-stakes environments.

As geopolitical demands for secure, Western-made drone technology increased, ORQA’s "Made in Europe" status and full in-house engineering became invaluable. They began adapting their FPV technology to support defense missions, moving from selling goggles to hobbyists to securing major partnerships, such as one with Turkey’s Baykar Technologies to potentially integrate ORQA technology into their renowned Bayraktar TB2 UAVs. This pivot was less of a strategic U-turn and more of a realization that their core technology was one of the most consequential defense technologies of the 2020s.

ORQA’s Reputation Precedes Itself

ORQA's reputation is as dynamic as the FPV industry itself, a blend of passionate support, high expectations, and the inevitable challenges of being a pioneer.

The Highs: Quality and Innovation

From the beginning, the consensus on ORQA's hardware has been overwhelmingly positive regarding build quality and optics. They delivered on their promise of a premium analog goggle experience that could stand toe-to-toe with established rivals like FatShark. Their commitment to in-house engineering is respected, allowing for faster iteration and a deeper understanding of the technology stack—something their team of over 30 engineers, physicists, and specialists work on every day. They are seen as the much-needed "Western alternative" to Chinese drone manufacturing, adhering to standards like NDAA compliance, which is crucial for their growing defense clientele.

The Challenges: The "Vaporware" Shadow

However, the path of an innovator is rarely smooth. Early on, the company faced criticism for being slow to deliver on promised digital HD video technology, a major shift in the FPV world. This led to a period where some in the consumer community felt ORQA was producing "solid but pricey analog goggles" without the promised upgrades, leading to the dreaded term "vaporware" appearing in online forums. There were also notable, albeit isolated, technical issues, including a public announcement regarding a "bricking incident" that required a swift firmware fix.

The perception shifted significantly, though, as ORQA clearly focused its resources on the more lucrative and mission-critical defense/enterprise market. While this may have meant a slowdown in consumer-facing digital development, it cemented their reputation as a company whose technology is serious enough for the battlefield.

Community-Driven DNA

Despite the pivot, the heart of ORQA remains community-driven. They cultivate an innovation-oriented mindset, valuing feedback to refine and enhance their products. Their CEO, Srdjan Kovačević, often speaks with a level of personal engagement that resonates: the company wasn't built to be a defense giant, but grew into one because the world needed their tech. This organic, passionate origin story is what keeps the human element alive in a company now dealing with multi-million dollar funding rounds and global defense contracts.

The Horizon: The Robotics Revolution

ORQA is no longer just an FPV goggle company. With significant seed funding led by major investors, they are now positioned as an EU-based drone powerhouse, fully vertically integrated and ready to lead what they call the "Robotic Revolution." Their focus is on enabling FPV for every autonomous and remotely operated vehicle in the world.

From a Kickstarter miracle in a small European city to a strategic partner in the future of unmanned systems, ORQA FPV has proven that passion, combined with rigorous in-house engineering, can disrupt a global industry. They are a profile in ambition, having mastered the intimate, exhilarating connection of the FPV flight experience and now scaling that expertise to some of the world’s most demanding applications. The view from their cockpit just got a whole lot wider, and it is a fascinating flight path to watch.