Ondas Holdings Inc. (ONDS) announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Airobotics Ltd ("Airobotics"), is accelerating upgrades to its counter-UAS system, the Iron Drone Raider, to address the needs of the of Israeli Defense and homeland security forces during the current conflict in Gaza. Supported by major Israeli defense companies, Airobotics' teams are enhancing the interception system to meet specific defensive requirements rising from the field. Iron Drone's unique integrated AI-based interception drone system allows for the elimination of small hostile drones and is effective against any type of small drone controlled or pre-programmed for flight, including hostile drones which do not rely on a pilot's command and control radio-link.
"Iron Drone Raider, with its unique capabilities and proprietary technology, represents the cutting edge of counter-drone technology," said Eric Brock, Chairman and CEO of Ondas. "The Airobotics team is making great progress to finalize the last stages of development in order to provide the system as soon as possible and address the operational needs rising from the field. By deploying the Iron Drone Raider, customers can neutralize the growing threat posed by the proliferation of small, hostile drones, thereby saving lives."
Small drones are becoming commonly used weapons for aerial surveillance and attacks. There are various methods that can be used to defend against small, hostile drones. For example, they can be stopped by jamming GPS reception or radio frequencies which serve to interfere with the drone pilot's manual control capabilities. Hostile drones that fly autonomously without critical communications can be stopped by physical shooting and interception. The Iron Drone Raider system has unique and proprietary capabilities to handle all types of small hostile drones, no matter how they are operated. The Iron Drone Raider system, upon detecting a small hostile drone, autonomously launches a small, hyper-fast interceptor drone that detects and tracks approaching hostile drones and "locks on" to them using proprietary advanced AI vision. The intercepting Raider drone follows the target, then incapacitates the hostile drone using a net and a parachute to safely lower it to the ground. The whole process, including detection, deployment, tracking and capturing the hostile drone is fully automated removing the need for a human pilot.
"We are receiving many inquiries and working around the clock to enhance our Iron Drone Raider system to address the needs of various Israeli Defense forces," said Meir Kliner, CEO of Airobotics and President of Ondas Autonomous Systems. "With the support of major Israeli defense contractors, we are looking to provide the Iron Drone Raider solution to different forces on the ground and believe that it is going to be a game changer helping to counteract the rising threat from hostile drones."
The market for spending on counter-UAS systems is estimated to grow from approximately $1.0 billion in 2023 to over $4.7 billion in size by 2030, representing a 24.7% compound annual growth rate over that period, according to Market Research Future.
Earlier this year, Ondas' Airobotics acquired the assets of Iron Drone, an Israel-based company specializing in the development of autonomous counter-drone systems. The Iron Drone Raider system uses AI technologies to identify and intercept hostile drones and can be integrated into a variety of drone detection systems. The Raider physically intercepts small, hostile drones using an incredibly swift autonomous drone equipped with interception mechanisms and combined with a highly automated docking station capable of simultaneously addressing several hostile drone targets. In August of this year Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) awarded a grant worth NIS 2.1 million (approximately $540,000) to support further development of the system and enhance the systems capabilities.