Airobotics acquires Iron Drone assets

Airobotics, a subsidiary of Ondas Holdings, introduced that it has accomplished the acquisition of the belongings of Iron Drone Ltd, an Israeli-based firm that creates autonomous counter-drone programs. The acquisition grew to become efficient on March 6, 2023. 

Iron Drone provides a fully-automated drone intercepting system that may eradicate small drones with out utilizing GPS or RF jamming. Primarily based on preliminary radar steerage, the corporate’s interceptor drone is launched from a chosen pod and autonomously flies towards its targets. The drone then locks onto the goal with superior AI imaginative and prescient, follows the goal, incapacitates and captures it utilizing a web and a parachute earlier than it safely lowers it to the bottom. 

“Iron Drone’s counter-drone expertise is an ideal match for Ondas’ portfolio as it’s a mission-critical system that may be put in to guard delicate belongings,” Eric Brock, Chairman and CEO of Ondas, mentioned in a launch. “The mix of Airobotics with Iron Drone represents a brand new income alternative for Ondas in a market that’s seeing a number of development. Iron Drone’s experience and expertise might be complementary to the Optimus System drone, offering our rising listing of shoppers within the public security and industrial sectors with the answer they’re in search of.”

Iron Drone is Ondas’ first foray into the general public security, homeland safety and protection markets. The corporate’s system and Airobotics’ Optimus System collectively provide a government-grade drone system for safety and demanding infrastructure safety and monitoring. 

“We’re transferring quick to carry the Iron Drone resolution to the homeland safety worldwide market,” Meir Kliner, Ondas Autonomous Techniques President, mentioned in a launch. “Now we have already been approached by numerous potential clients who’re in search of a dependable, non-weaponized counter-drone resolution. The distinctive built-in AI-based Iron Drone resolution depends on [the] bodily elimination of the goal drone. This makes it efficient towards pre-programmed hostile drones and UAVs which don’t depend on [the] operator’s radio-link. Furthermore, as a result of its low collateral signature, it may be operated in areas the place using jamming is prohibited, equivalent to airports, populated areas, and demanding infrastructures. With Iron Drone, our clients will have the ability to neutralize threats whereas using Optimus drones for monitoring, remark, and video surveillance.”

Ondas introduced it was buying Airobotics in July 2022, with the aim of accelerating American Robotics‘, one other Ondas subsidiary, technical growth and regulatory roadmap and increasing the breadth of functions, use circumstances and vertical AR targets. 

Airobotics’ Optimus System is an autonomous unmanned plane system that focuses on high-value functions inside the industrial, homeland safety and good metropolis providers market. The system contains an industrial-grade drone-in-a-box and the Optimus Airbase, which permits for robotic battery and payload swapping. 

The Scout System from American Robotics contains Scout, a fully-autonomous drone, ScoutBase, a weatherproof charging and edge computing station and ScoutView, a fleet administration and analytics software program. Scout is meant for industrial, agricultural, and protection markets.