Chad is the editor of AINalerts, AIN's daily business aviation newsletter, and is also the news editor at AIN Media Group.&nbsp;He has been writing about aviation, with an emphasis on business aviation, since 1994. Chad started his writing career at The Avion,&nbsp;the&nbsp;student newspaper at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, serving as editor-in-chief before graduating with a bachelor's in aeronautical science. After a stint as managing editor at Professional Pilot&nbsp;magazine, he joined&nbsp;AIN in late 1998. Chad holds a commercial pilot certificated with instrument and multi-engine ratings, and he also is a CFI/CFII. He lives and works from his home in Venice, Florida.

Online Editor

Chad Trautvetter

Autonomous systems and private wireless solutions provider Ondas launched a defense and security division this week at the Singapore Airshow in an effort to unify its combat systems. Under the new operating unit, the West Palm Beach, Florida-based company is also presenting its vision for governing low-altitude airspace and the ground beneath as a single autonomous operational domain, turning previously disconnected systems into a coordinated, autonomous force.
“Modern threats are no longer confined to air or ground—they move seamlessly between domains, across cities, borders, and battlefields,” said Ondas chairman and CEO Eric Brock. “Our launch at the Singapore Airshow reflects Ondas’ evolution into a defense-tech and security company purpose-built for this reality, delivering combat-proven, multi-domain, and multi-layered autonomous capabilities through a unified operational architecture.”
Oshri Lugassy, co-CEO of Ondas Autonomous Systems, said the defense and security unit is intended to simplify complexity while increasing control. “By integrating robotics platforms, sensors, and effectors under one autonomous command-and-control layer, we enable defense and security organizations to detect, decide, and act faster—with fewer operators, lower operational footprint, and higher mission effectiveness,” he noted.
The new division is designed to overcome the limitations of siloed defense systems that rely on disconnected sensors, manual coordination, and reactive responses. Thus, Ondas’ solutions will integrate autonomous ISR, counter-UAS, aerial and ground uncrewed systems, and decision-support technologies into a software-defined, modular, and scalable system-of-systems. “This unified approach enables persistent, adaptive, and proportionate responses to evolving threats across diverse and contested environments,” the company said.
The unified and autonomous command-and-control layer being shown this week by Ondas in Singapore connects and coordinates fixed and mobile platforms from low-altitude aerial systems to unmanned ground systems. “This operational layer delivers accurate real-time situational awareness, autonomous response capabilities, and closed-loop detect-to-defeat workflows, supporting missions ranging from critical infrastructure protection and border security to forward-deployed military operations,” Ondas said.
In related news, the Optimus autonomous drone from Ondas’ American Robotics subsidiary received approval last week for rapid U.S. federal procurement through the Defense Contract Management Agency’s Blue UAS Cleared List. “It validates the Optimus drone as a secure, reliable, and operationally proven platform for defense use,” explained Brock.
At the center of the system is an automated drone-in-a-box dock that can support continuous 24/7 operations. The dock houses 11 onboard batteries and up to nine mission payloads, enabling extended endurance without human intervention. An integrated mechanical arm allows payloads to be exchanged autonomously between flights, enabling the system to shift mission profiles while maintaining persistent aerial coverage.

News and issues relating to civil and military unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) of all kinds and sizes, including those used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), combat (unmanned combat air vehicles, or UCAVs), law enforcement, research and other applications. Of particular focus is the FAA's planned integration of UAS into the U.S. national airspace system.

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