Iron Drone Raider is at the cutting edge of autonomous drone defense

The array of counter unmanned aircraft systems (CUAS) in the global defense marketplace share a common limitation. Almost all of them require a human in the loop to be effective. Iron Drone Raider does not. It represents a new generation of autonomous defense in which detecting, classifying, and defeating hostile drones is executed more efficiently, more cheaply and more persistently than ever.

The Iron Drone system comes from Ondas Autonomous Systems (Nasdaq: ONDS), a newly organized defense tech competitor in the drone defense space. The system leverages the Israeli expertise of Ondas’ subsidiary, Airobotics, in developing fully autonomous drone systems, and includes features that were integrated under the real-time pressure of combat. The Iron Drone system is provided in the USA by another Ondas’ subsidiary, American Robotics, which specializes in complex drone operations in military and civilian environments.

Development of the Iron Drone system began in 2016 and accelerated following the start of the Hamas-Israel conflict in 2023. For much of the year that followed, scores of hostile drones were intercepted in the greater Tel Aviv area where Airobotics is located. The consistent round-the-clock threat of drone attacks and the need to take them down without collateral damage reinforced the Iron Drone Raider team’s conviction that an autonomous approach to CUAS is essential.

“We saw that the traditional contractors in defense were having a hard time here in Israel to maintain the agility to keep up with combat. The enemy is very agile, industry is not,” says Meir Kliner, CEO of Airobotics and President of Ondas Autonomous Systems.

As in Ukraine, the threat to populated areas in Israel from both long and short-range drones quickly mutated from remotely controlled, radio frequency (RF) linked UAVs to pre-programmed and autonomous air vehicles capable of navigating to and striking targets without command and control. Opportunities for drone detection and mitigation narrowed with correspondingly shorter interception timelines and increasing probability of collateral damage.

The Iron Drone system is a response to these realities, a platform that offers persistently-aware, human-independent, reusable and low-collateral drone defense without relying on RF sensing for detection or defeat.

Iron Drone Raider System Ready to Deploy 24/7.

Agile, Autonomous & Modular

The Raider drone is the core of the Iron Drone system. It is a high-performance interceptor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) derived from high-speed racing drones. The eight-pound (4 kg), eight-rotor UAV can launch from the surface to intercept hostile rotary-wing or fixed-wing drones at ranges out to a few miles at drone racer speeds while carrying a 2.2-pound payload. The primary payload is a ballistic net which Raider uses to capture Class-1 UAS.

The Raider interceptor is deployed from a ground-based box which can hold up to three Raiders to respond to multiple hostile drones. The system integrates adjacent ground-based radar engineered to detect and identify low-altitude drones at ranges out to several miles. Iron Drone can also leverage networked sensors to increase detection ranges.

When an incoming drone is detected, the Raider launches from the box and rapidly flies to the target area using ground sensor guidance. It autonomously shifts to its own onboard micro-radar, thermal and optical sensor-based guidance once the threat is in close proximity. It then identifies the target using proprietary computer vision and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. Raider locks on to the target and dynamically maneuvers into position to fire its net at close range with the adversary drone.

The net incapacitates the drone which falls to the ground. An optional net-parachute slows its descent to reduce impact risk over populated areas and preserves the hostile UAV for examination for intelligence or other purposes. Raider provides live video as the entire sequence unfolds autonomously, obviating the need for human-actuated launch and intercept control, significantly shortening response time.

Following the interception, Raider returns to the launch site, lands in a predetermined place, is retrieved and undergoes simple maintenance. It is fitted with a new net or other payload, and placed back in its launch pod where it is recharged and ready for reuse.

“We believe we have developed the most mature, robust and combat proven CUAS system currently in the defense market. The system presents next the level of drone autonomy, with no need for human intervention for detection, capable of maneuvering and intercepting small and medium drones no matter how they navigate,” Kliner says, adding that in addition to its instantaneous readiness, the Iron Drone system yields cost benefits from eliminating active remote pilots to lowering the training burden for system operators.

“Within the box you have a couple drones. You just need to plug it into [24 volt] power and it works,” vice president of marketing, Eitan Rotberg, explains. “You don’t need to charge batteries, you don’t need to add the payload. The drones are ready to go and they’re well-trained.”

A network of Iron Drone systems can be deployed to military bases, front-line operating areas/forward command posts, borders or to protect critical infrastructure. Small in size, they can travel with forces in the field on platforms from Humvees and helicopters to manned or autonomous maritime vessels.

Already integrated with sensor and command-control systems from leading integrators, the Iron Drone Raider system is agnostic, ready to plug and play with new sensor and C2 system providers in as little two weeks.

Its modularity extends to payloads with kinetic options for CUAS and other missions now in development. Raider components can also be sourced from multiple providers and can be Blue-UAS certified to meet U.S. requirements.

“It’s pretty impressive what you can do with this drone,” Kliner affirms. “It opens a lot of options.”

Proven in Israel, Poised To Produce and Deploy in America

As it gains combat experience and sees expanded production in Israel, the Iron Drone system is poised to expand to new markets. In the US, Ondas’ American Robotics expects to engage technology partners to support demand for defense and homeland security markets. Iron Drone’s flexibility has been recognized in the Middle East where a major military and a renowned defense contractor placed orders for the system in 2024. It is already operational and proving itself daily, generating feedback that goes directly to the Israeli developer, Airobotics.

Eric Brock, chairman and CEO of Ondas Holdings (Nasdaq: ONDS), the parent company of Ondas Autonomous Systems, has guided the growth of Ondas’ drone business since it acquired American Robotics in 2021 and Airobotics in 2023. Ondas’ vision has been to perfect Iron Drone in Israel before introducing it to the U.S. defense market.

“It was actually a blessing to develop this from the urgency of need, from combat pressure,” Brock reflects. “Now, as we’ve gone operational, we’re devoting resources to bring this technology to other markets.”

In addition to Iron Drone, Ondas Autonomous Systems is providing an intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance (ISR) drone system called Optimus to the public safety, first-responder, defense and commercial security markets.

The dual-use Optimus System operates with the same level of autonomy as Iron Drone while undertaking aerial monitoring, inspection and other missions, providing overhead awareness for public safety and critical infrastructure or for homeland security and military installations.

Optimus is in-use in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates’ largest and most populated city, with its police force. In the US, Optimus has already undergone a multi-month trial with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Aeronautics Division and is being demonstrated in a large Northeast US city for major public safety operators. The system was also recently ordered by an important utility on the East Coast to help monitor and secure its infrastructure. A major Middle Eastern military has likewise begun deploying Optimus to secure military bases and sensitive border locations.

Ondas Autonomous Systems’ early success with Optimus represents a feature which very few other CUAS providers can leverage – parallel commercial and defense revenue streams. Moreover, Iron Drone Raider and Optimus are complimentary systems, offering militaries, governments and municipalities the opportunity to combine autonomous drone based awareness with autonomous counter-drone defense.

Iron Drone Raider System in Flight Tracking Hostile Drone.

Iron Drone Raider will be progressively introduced to the United States defense market throughout 2025, As part of the effort, American Robotics will deploy its Iron Drone Demonstration Team to showcase Iron Drone to DoD in upcoming CUAS evaluation exercises and to potential defense industry partners with which the modular system can form comprehensive, layered counter drone solutions.

“We expect to have the Iron Drone Demo Team meeting with various U.S. customers in April,” Brock affirms. The team recently conducted a demonstration in Germany and more are planned. Ondas’ CEO affirms that as part of its outreach American Robotics looks forward to working with a variety of sensor and command-control providers in the US this year.

In tandem with Optimus, American Robotics is in the process of establishing domestic Iron Drone production facilities and preparing to scale the system for the American market. As part of the process, it has adopted Palantir’s “Foundry” enterprise resource platform to organize its operations and build out its supplier network.

Utilizing Foundry further expands the integration potential of Iron Drone across traditional and emerging industry primes and presages U.S. market partnerships which American Robotics plans to announce in 2025.

Ondas Autonomous Systems also envisions a broader production ecosystem with sufficient capacity to produce hardware for other providers to meet the scale that the growing global counter-drone market – valued at approximately $1.6 billion in 2023, projected to grow at a 27.8% CAGR to reach $14.9 billion by 2032 – will require.

As the market expands, Ondas will continue to refine and diversify Iron Drone Raider, progressively improving its proprietary AI-based autonomy, organic navigation capability, and payload options.

As Meir Kliner says, Iron Drone is the first of a new breed of smart CUAS solutions that effectively cut response times, cost, and command complexity. Iron Drone Raider is “the intelligent counter-UAS drone that can operate in denied environments with precision and accuracy”.