Ondas has invested $1 billion in Israel, Dr. Judith Hocherman-Frommer, CTO and chief engineer of Ondas Autonomous Systems, announced at the UVID DroneTech 2026 conference at Expo Tel Aviv.
“Investment in Israel is becoming mission critical,” she said, adding that the US-based company has acquired 27 defense-tech companies over the past 18 months, the majority being Israeli companies. The others are from the United States or Europe.
"We do not only acquire companies; we invest in each one to maximize its capabilities and create opportunities for collaboration among them to solve operational challenges in real time,” she added.
The acquisitions are part of Ondas’ broader push to build a vertically integrated defense technology company spanning the development, manufacturing, and deployment of autonomous systems. Its portfolio includes autonomous drones, counter-UAS systems, robotic ground platforms, unmanned aircraft, and systems for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions.
The company’s motto, she said, is “Bots before boots,” with autonomous systems leading and clearing the way ahead of the warfighter.
According to Hocherman-Frommer, threats are evolving at a pace not seen before, within months rather than years, and therefore require fast, practical responses as well as strong integration between Israel's operational innovation and global manufacturing and deployment infrastructures.
The modern battlefield is creating “a democratization of low-cost threats at massive scale, asymmetric warfare, and a constant learning race that demands flexibility and rapid adaptation. At the same time, these realities are colliding with multi-year development cycles and legacy architectures on the ground."
In response, the defense industry needs to change its operating model, as “the response to rapidly evolving threats can no longer rely on development programs that take years to complete, nor on expensive, standalone missiles designed to counter swarms of low-cost drones."
Instead, "There must be a shift toward developing simpler and faster systems, manufacturing large quantities at high quality and affordable cost, and advancing toward autonomy, where systems operate independently while human operators provide high-level oversight."
“Speed is the new strategic advantage,” she stressed.
Digital Bat
Hocherman-Frommer’s comments came just days after Ondas announced that it had received a purchase order under its Digital Bat program, a next-generation tactical attack drone designed to meet what the company believes could become demand for tens of thousands of affordable autonomous strike systems.
The company said the order marks a transition from development toward serial production and large-scale manufacturing.
Ondas said it plans to leverage its pending acquisition of ARAN Defense, an Israeli engineering and manufacturing company, to establish dedicated production lines capable of manufacturing thousands of systems.
The acquisition is expected to add engineering, industrialization, systems integration, supply-chain management, and manufacturing capabilities to Ondas' growing defense portfolio.
The Digital Bat program is expected to be led by Airobotics, Ondas' Israeli autonomous systems subsidiary, which would be responsible for development, autonomy software, mission systems, and integration. ARAN Defense would provide manufacturing and industrial support following completion of the acquisition.
“Manufacturing thousands of affordable autonomous systems requires much more than advanced drone technology,” said Oshri Lugassy, co-CEO of Ondas Autonomous Systems. “It requires the ability to transition rapidly from engineering and development into efficient, repeatable production while maintaining the reliability and quality demanded by defense customers.
“Our planned integration with ARAN Defense is expected to provide the industrial infrastructure and manufacturing expertise needed to support production at this scale, creating additional opportunities for our growing autonomous defense portfolio.”
Follow us on GoogleSource: The Jerusalem Post · ANNA AHRONHEIM
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