XTEND has been awarded a $20M contract by the Israel Ministry of Defense to develop and supply a multi-drone operating system. This will be the first system of its kind. XTEND is the developer of XOS, a human-guided autonomous operating system that is transforming ‘human to machine’ interaction.

MAFAT Develops Innovative Defense Concepts

The project with MAFAT and Israel’s Ministry of Defense Directorate of Defense Research & Development will see XOS enable remote, safe, and intuitive operation of numerous human-guided semi-autonomous drones simultaneously. This project will be using the latest virtual reality and AI technology. XOS allows XTEND drones to be deployed remotely by military units precisely, intuitively, and immersively across numerous scenarios. This joint initiative embodies the shared vision between the IDF and XTEND of evolving drones into more than just another “eye in the sky”. Through this initiative, operators can control, interact, and run 3rd party applications on drones remotely, which will keep forces out of danger, while bringing together an operator’s expertise with machine autonomy, VR, and AI. The deal is performance and deliverable milestone based. 

An official source at the IDF says, “We’re witnessing a revolution on the modern battlefield. Working with XTEND over the last three years, we have already been able to field systems that are now in daily use, and we are confident that this new program will provide a tremendous leap in our operational capabilities. Putting the best of civilian technology into the hands of our soldiers. One of the greatest challenges for a program office working with cutting-edge technologies is to find the right industry partners. Along with very few other vendors, we see XTEND as such partner.” 

“We are very honored and excited to have been chosen once again by MAFAT, and to collaborate with them on this game-changing topic,” Ido Bar-On, VP of Business Development & Sales at XTEND, comments. “Our continued partnership reflects the trust of the Israeli Ministry of Defense has in our company’s team and technology. XTEND’s deep collaboration with MAFAT in recent years has already been operationally proven time and again, reducing the risk to operators and providing them with the best of breed technology to give them an operational edge. XTEND and the Ministry of Defense are working to secure the cooperation of other ally countries in this development program.” 

XTEND Secures Multiple Contracts

This new contract is the latest in over 20 significant contracts secured by XTEND in the last three years. This includes the multi-million dollar contract with the U.S. Department of Defense, which sees XTEND’s technology enabling US military drone operations to interact and operate multiple smart machines from a safe, remote location with minimal training. 

XOS is built to be easily programmable and configurable to fit different needs outside of defense, Aviv Shapira, co-founder and CEO of XTEND, explains: “Scalable, affordable, and indefinitely flexible, XOS’s unique operating system allows humans to connect and interact with drones, robots, vehicles, smart devices, and smart machines simultaneously – using advanced VR technology, on top of an AI layer. Alongside defense, XOS is providing a new way for public safety, inspection, and homeland security professionals to interact with machines virtually in various civilian scenarios.” 

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