Israel’s National Drone Initiative enters second phase

Airobitics drone (from company website)

Israel is one of the leaders when it comes to developing new drone technology. Drones – also known as UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) – are the way of the future. Companies like Amazon are already using them for local deliveries and soon they could be used for anything from surveillance to travel.

Yes, that’s right, travel? Companies like Google and Tesla have been developing driverless cars for some time now. Well, soon enough the drone tech will advance to the stage where people will finally get their flying cars, so to speak. And these will be driverless as well so people won’t need to get a license to operate them or learn how to fly.

Then there are the military aspects of drone technologies. Israel has been forced to defend itself more and more from Drones used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization based in Lebanon which has been using UAVs to spy on the IDF. And drones can also carry explosives for attacks.

For example, the Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) is developing a new Elevated Sensor system designed to detect incoming threats, such as missiles fired from Lebanon by the terrorist group Hezbollah. In Hebrew, the system is called Tal Shamayim which means “Sky Dew.”

Israel’s national drone initiative is introducing concepts that have never before been fielded, breaking new ground internationally. Now, Israel’s National Drone Initiative is entering its second phase.

Sixty million NIS ($17.3 million) will be invested in 10 companies as part of a pilot project by the Israel Innovation Authority, Ayalon Highways, the Ministry of Transportation, and the Civil Aviation Authority. The pilot project will also examine the use of large cargo and passenger-carrying heavy drones flying in controlled airspace. As part of the pilot, the drones’ capabilities will be tested over two years at various sites throughout the country.

Following the previous pilot program (2020-2022), which successfully met all predefined metrics, starting January (2023) a number of companies will participate in one week of flights across the country every month for the next two years (24 trials in total). The demonstrations will take place nationwide under managed airspace. The drones will carry heavier loads, including some that in the future will be capable of human transportation. This pilot will be carried out in cooperation with the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel (CAAI), the Israeli Air Force, Israel Airports Authority (IAA), and other relevant regulatory entities.

The companies selected to participate in this second pilot phase are (in no particular order):

• Airwayz Drones Ltd. – Airwayz has an AI-based system for smart management of airspace and drone fleets. The company will operate two systems: one for the dynamic management of the drones’ airspace, and a fleet management system for the autonomous operation of drone fleets for various tasks within the confines of a smart city.

• F.T. Aerial Solutions Ltd. – F.T. Aerial Solutions Ltd. (an Aerodrome Group Ltd. company) has been working since it was founded to provide remotely operated aircraft services. The company offers operations, training, implementation, and integration services to supply the best possible solution for each client. It is active in civil engineering, construction, agriculture, renewable energy, and the safety and security industries.

• Elsight – Elsight provides a reliable and secure communications solution for the drone industry, which allows various parties to carry out BVLOS (beyond visual line of sight) activities in all commercial verticals.

• AGL – AGL is engaged in the characterization of systems and control rooms, writing operations and activation procedures for command-and-control rooms, and certification training and ongoing professional training for aviation personnel.

• ATI (Air Taxi Israel) – A dedicated AAM (advanced air mobility) company in Israel that works in partnership with relevant aviation companies involved in the project.

• Brook – Brook Aviation operates helicopter services. The company will operate an eVTOL (electronic vertical take-off and landing) fleet alongside helicopters and aircraft based on similar flight characteristics.

• Down Wind – Down Wind is an aircraft manufacturer and air operator specializing in remotely manned aircraft.

• High-Lander – High-Lander provides solutions that enable advanced autonomous aerial command and control for managing drone fleets. The company offers an end-to-end technological solution for autonomous deliveries by drones – from real-time loading and autonomous airspace management to their arrival at the destination. The solution includes an end-user application that displays the drone’s location in real time, the progress of the air shipment, and a video feed.

• Cando Drones – Cando Drones is a drone airline. The company provides a comprehensive solution based on a system that includes the following components: drone capabilities, unique command, and control software for their automatic and autonomous operation, as well as professional guidance for integrating and maximizing capabilities in the required activity.

• Robotican – Develops ground and air-based mobile autonomous robotic systems and is developing fast-response drone-based solutions.

This pilot project aims to expand experiments with long-range aircraft carrying heavy loads. The goal is that in the future, it will be possible to fly passengers from place to place and improve the congestion situation in Israel by using drones.

The pilot is a direct continuation of the first National Drone Initiative (2020-2022).
Partners include the Israel Innovation Authority, Ayalon Highways, the Ministry of Transportation, and CAAI – a unique national and international collaboration between government entities, civil authorities, and industry partners.

The regulatory sandbox supports the development and implementation of the technologies that will allow companies to improve their products, develop a sustainable economic model and optimize the services provided to all citizens.

During the first two years of demonstrations, over 15,000 drone flights were carried out in various locations across Israel: Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Hadera, Ramat Hasharon, Herzliya, Modi’in, Yeruham, and Beersheba, as well as in 18 medical institutions throughout the country.

As part of the first phase, the regulator and companies experimented with flights to meet commercial and public needs, including the transfer of shipments, monitoring, security, photography, flying medical equipment, and more. In the next phase, the regulatory and technological infrastructures will be further expanded.

Numerous collaborations with public entities were carried out, including the IDF’s
Home Front Command in Operation “Guardian of the Walls”, Israel Police, the Tel Aviv Municipality covering mass-participant events, and more. The Israeli
National Drone Initiative is also part of a collaboration with the World Economic Forum, and received extensive international exposure to global regulators, industry, and media. The initiative established Israel as a leader in developing this rapidly expanding ecosystem.

This very large demonstration will expand global knowledge by executing simultaneous flights, including dozens of unmanned drones carrying cargo and advanced drones with cutting-edge technologies designed to carry passengers. The demonstration will evaluate the technological maturity of such solutions in a controlled, responsible, safety-first mindset. The drones will begin flying this year. At first, limited flight tests will be carried out in areas without human presence. Later flights will be carried out over sparsely populated areas with the goal of working up to demonstrating services within urban areas.

Ayalon Highways will continue to serve as the “beta site” for the tests and will facilitate the oversight of the operations from its Metropolitan Command and Control Center.