Israeli firm XTEND wins major US defense deal

OCCUPIED QUDS, Nov. 14 (YPA) – Israeli firm XTEND, whose drones reportedly killed assassinated Hamas leader Yahiya Sinwar in Gaza, has won a contract worth tens of millions of dollars from the US Department of Defense to develop and supply hundreds of artificial intelligence-based attack drones, according to Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.

The company announced this week that it had secured a multi-million-dollar deal to develop and supply AI-enabled attack drones.

Reports in Israel suggest that XTEND’s operational experience in conflict zones, including the occupied Palestinian territories and Ukraine, helped it outcompete American defense firms for the contract.

A requirement of the tender was that the drones be produced in the United States using American workers and non-Chinese components. To meet those conditions, XTEND established a production facility in Tampa, Florida, which manufactures systems for the US, Ukraine and Israel.

According to a Pentagon statement, the new drone kits — known as modular one-way attack systems, or ACQME-DK — will allow small tactical teams to train and operate more effectively in complex urban and rural combat environments.

The drones can operate in coordinated swarms controlled by a single operator using AI tools and can switch between wireless and fiber-optic communications to reduce interference, with an operational range of up to 20 kilometers.

@E.Y.M