Ondas Holdings Inc has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Airobotics Ltd has acquired the assets of Iron Drone Ltd. Iron Drone is an Israeli-based company specializing in developing autonomous counter-drone systems. The acquisition is effective as of March 6, 2023. Iron Drone’s new system will be presented at the World Police Summit in Dubai on March 7th-9th. Ondas will integrate Iron Drone’s counter-drone technology within Ondas Autonomous Systems, it’s business unit.
The complete acquisition represents a new revenue opportunity and provides an entrance to the public safety, homeland security, and defense markets. The companies will now offer customers in smart city, defense, and industrial markets with advanced and integrated security platforms. These platforms will have the ability to intercept hostile drones in various theaters like airports, populated areas, critical infrastructure, and more. The Iron Drone technology will be available to customers as a standalone technology offering and as an addition to the Optimus System™ Urban Drone Infrastructure.
Acquisition Represents Opportunity for Ondas
Iron Drone’s counter-drone technology is a perfect fit for Ondas’ portfolio as it is a mission-critical system that can be installed to protect sensitive assets,” says Eric Brock, Chairman and CEO of Ondas. “The combination of Airobotics with Iron Drone represents a new revenue opportunity for Ondas in a market that is seeing a lot of growth. Iron Drone’s expertise and technology will be complementary to the Optimus System drone, providing our growing list of customers in the public safety and industrial sectors with the solution they are looking for.”
“We’re moving fast to bring the Iron Drone solution to the homeland security worldwide market,” says Meir Kliner, Ondas Autonomous Systems President. “We have already been approached by various potential customers who are looking for a reliable, non-weaponized counter-drone solution. The unique integrated AI-based Iron Drone solution relies on physical elimination of the target drone. This makes it effective against pre-programmed hostile drones and UAVs which do not rely on operators radio-link. Moreover, due to its low collateral signature, it can be operated in areas where the use of jamming is prohibited, such as airports, populated areas, and critical infrastructures. With Iron Drone, our customers will be able to neutralize threats while utilizing Optimus drones for monitoring, observation, and video surveillance.”
Technology seeks to counter drone threats while minimizing collateral damage
Over the past few years, there has been a marked rise in the utilization of drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles by criminal and terrorist organizations, who seek to disrupt strategic facilities such as airports, oil and gas installations, and public events or city centers. These vehicles appeal to hostile actors due to their accessibility and ease of operation, and they may also be repurposed for intelligence gathering, smuggling, or even weaponization.
To counter this threat, the Iron Drone system has been designed to safeguard against hostile drones and UAVs while minimizing collateral damage. The fully automated system utilizes an intercepting mechanism that eliminates small drones without resorting to GPS or RF jamming. The interceptor is launched from a designated pod and moves independently toward the target based on initial radar guidance. Advanced AI vision is then utilized to “lock on” to the target. The intercepting drone follows the target, eventually disabling and capturing it using a net and a parachute, thereby safely lowering it to the ground. The entire process is fully automated and does not require a human pilot.
