Israel’s unmanned-systems industry grows amid rising demand for drone defense

Brig. Gen. (Res.) Zvika Haimovich, former commander of the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) Aerial Defense Array, said approximately 10 million commercial drones were sold worldwide in 2025.

By Efrat Forsher, TPS

Israel’s unmanned-systems industry is attracting billions of shekels in investment and generating defense contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The expansion is being driven by rising geopolitical tensions, lessons from the war in Ukraine, and growing demand for technologies that address emerging battlefield threats.

At the UVID Dronetech 2026 conference in Tel Aviv on Thursday, defense technology company Ondas reported investments of more than NIS 3 billion ($930 million) in Israel over the past year.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), meanwhile, highlighted business opportunities arising from heightened tensions in Asia.

The conference also featured Israeli technologies designed to counter emerging threats, including explosive-laden drones used by Hezbollah against Israeli forces in Lebanon.

Now in its 14th year, the conference brought together defense officials, industry executives, entrepreneurs, investors, and international representatives.

This year’s event was the largest to date, attracting more than 6,000 participants and over 100 exhibitors across approximately 6,000 square meters of exhibition space.

Alon Unger, founder and chairman of the conference, said $13 billion was invested in the global unmanned-systems sector during the first nine months of 2026.

“The Israeli industry is experiencing a significant growth surge, characterized by an influx of capital, accelerated development, and the increasing integration of artificial intelligence,” he said.

Unger added that Israel needs a national unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) strategy to maintain its global leadership in the field.

Dr. Yehudit Hocherman-Frommer, chief technology officer and chief engineer at Ondas, said the company had invested more than NIS 3 billion in Israel over the past year and acquired 27 companies, most of them Israeli, during the previous 18 months.

Col. (Res.) Eitan Arad, senior vice president of marketing and sales for IAI’s Military Aircraft Group, said the conflict between India and Pakistan underscored the importance of long-term partnerships between defense industries and their clients.

Cooperation with India during and after the conflict, he added, had resulted in dozens of deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The growing use of drones and the security challenges they pose were also major topics at the conference.

Brig. Gen. (Res.) Zvika Haimovich, former commander of the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) Aerial Defense Array, said approximately 10 million commercial drones were sold worldwide in 2025.

Including drones used for defense purposes, he estimated, the figure exceeds 20 million.

“Drones are changing the rules of the game, reshaping the boundaries of the conflict and the established norms,” Haimovich said.

He warned that what begins as a tactical threat could have strategic consequences, including disruptions to electricity, water, and transportation infrastructure.

Countering Fiber-Optic Drone Threats

Among the exhibitors was Innoviz Technologies, which develops and manufactures LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors.

The technology uses laser pulses to scan the surrounding environment, creating detailed three-dimensional images and identifying the precise location of objects.

Fiber-optic-linked drones communicate through physical cables rather than conventional wireless signals.

This makes them resistant to conventional jamming and electronic warfare systems.

Their low-altitude flight paths can also make them difficult for radar to detect.

At least five Israeli soldiers have been killed in attacks involving explosive-laden drones guided by fiber-optic cables.

As Hezbollah increasingly deployed these drones against Israeli forces in Lebanon, the IDF sought new ways to detect them and turned to Innoviz.

The company’s CEO, Omer Keilaf, explained to The Press Service of Israel why conventional detection systems struggled to identify the threat.

“Once Hezbollah connected their drones to fiber-optic cables, existing radars became ‘deaf’ to them. They could no longer detect the drones at a range of a kilometer, but only at 200 meters—leaving just five seconds to react. There is no solution for a five-second window, and that is the reason for the severe outcomes we witnessed in Lebanon,” Keilaf said.

Innoviz developed a detection system based on LiDAR, which uses reflected laser light rather than radio signals to identify objects.

According to Keilaf, the system can detect and track fiber-optic-linked drones and provide precise location data to support interception efforts.

“The LiDAR features high resolution and can pinpoint a drone with centimeter-level precision, allowing for an accurate interception,” he said.

According to the company, the system is already being used by the IDF and in communities in northern Israel.

Its deployment reflects efforts to adapt existing detection technologies to a battlefield threat that conventional radar and electronic warfare systems have struggled to address.

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