Israeli Defense Forces Maj. Gen. Amir Baram, Deputy Chief of Staff of the General Staff inspects a drone during an Israeli Defense Force and CENTCOM visit on Fort Liberty, N.C., Aug. 8, 2023. (Spc. Ashley Xie/U.S. Army)
(Tribune News Service) — The Ministry of Defense directorate of defense research and development (DDR&D) is preparing a tender worth hundreds of millions of shekels to be issued in the coming weeks for the procurement of 20,000 drones that are made in Israel, a source close to the matter has told “Globes.” The companies that win the tender will provide drones of various types including assault drones, and surveillance and intelligence drones, in several deliveries over a period of five years. Estimates are that a range of Israeli companies will bid in the tender including Dronix, Xtend, Robotican, Tehiru, Heven Drones and CopterPix.
The tender will mark a change in strategy by the IDF, which in recent months has preferred the Chinese drone industry over Israel’s drone makers. As “Globes” has previously reported, the IDF has procured thousands of Chinese drones manufactured by DJI and Autel — two companies that have been blacklisted by the U.S. Department of Defense.
The order was placed due to the urgent need to use drones in urban warfare in as part of the war in Gaza, and due to the fact that the IDF had not been prepared for this. Drones donated to the IDF, which have been used extensively, are also manufactured by the same Chinese companies.
Dependence on Chinese drones is a double-edged sword for the Ministry of Defense. It has allowed for the provision of quick and cheap equipment for the immediate term. But it also leaves in service of the IDF thousands of drones manufactured by companies owned by the Chinese government, which could pose a threat to national security, according to the U.S. In addition, this strengthens Israel’s dependence on Chinese manufactured procurement and spare parts, which could be dangerous in the event that China, which sees itself as an ally of Iran, Russia, Qatar and Hamas, decides to embargo on selling equipment to Israel.
Furthermore, the Chinese drones, which are considered an off-the-shelf product that is also sold in the civilian market, have difficulty operating on Israel’s northern front. Hezbollah has a system called Aeroscope for identifying Chinese drones and locating their operators. Thus, the IDF understands the need not to be dependent on foreign drones, and the importance of supporting the long-term ability of Israeli industry to provide the strategic advantage of domestic production of the drones, which are changing the face of the battlefield, as is happening in Ukraine, for example.
The gap between supply and demand
Israel’s drone industry is still not ready for orders for tens of thousands of units and this is one of the reasons that the IDF has previously turned to Chinese industry, which controls the global off-the-shelf drone market with high-quality cameras and a short learning curve for soldiers being trained to use them, some of whom are already familiar with them from the civilian market.
In order to bring Israeli industry up to speed, local companies have been required to build production lines and recruit enough technology and assembly workers with expertise and knowledge relevant to this task. Consequently, it is believed that when the tender is published, supply of the drones will be in the medium to long term rather immediate delivery. By then, companies hope to set up production lines and perhaps even advanced production workshops capable of producing drones in bigger numbers.
Not all drones that are currently in the possession of Israeli companies can meet the requirements of the army, due to low price requirements and the high costs of raw materials and components. As far as is known, the price that the IDF will demand is still subject to change, but it is in the range of $2,700-$5,400 per drone, with the lower threshold being too low from many companies’ point of view. While Chinese companies like DJI and Autel provide the army with a finished and cheap product, Israeli companies will be required to assemble the drones with the components that will be sought in the military tender, with the cost of some of these components, like a thermal sensor, amounting to thousands of dollars per unit.
The low price levels required by the IDF reduces the likelihood that drones manufactured by Israel’s defense technology giants such as Elbit Systems and Rafael will enter the tender. Rafael’s Spike Firefly drone — a 2 kilogram assault drone that remains in the air for about 15 minutes with a range of up to a kilometer, costs far above the IDF’s price threshold. Elbit’s Thor drone is even more expensive. In the category of surveillance drones, Israeli companies face a major challenge, since the price difference between Chinese and Israeli drones is especially large, compared with assault drones.
The Israeli companies
One of the Israeli companies expected to bid for the IDF drone tender is Xtend, based in Ramat Hahayal in Tel Aviv, which already provides to the IDF as well as civilian installations like offshore gas rigs. The company produces drones that are relatively cheap like the Wolverine, a multi-mission UAS on which the IDF can install thermal cameras, weapons, loudspeakers or arms for opening doors. Another Israeli company that could bid for the tender is Robotican, which produces the Goshawk — a flying drone that can become a miniature motorized vehicle capable of performing a range of intelligence and assault missions.
Other companies likely to bid for the IDF tender include: Tehiru, which specializes in drones with encrypted communications that evade the enemy’s electronics combat system could offer its White Widow drone; Dronix, which manufactures the DR multi-mission series drones — the simplest of which is the DR-750, which can provide aerial surveillance for up to 35 minutes; Heven Drones provides the Urban drone which can remain in the air for 37 minutes and can carry up to 10 kilograms; CopterPIX provides a series of drones under the ERE brand.
No response from the IDF Spokesperson has been forthcoming.
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