The Israeli Drones Company XTEND has won a tender for drones issued by the Logistics and Logistics forces of the IDF, a source close to the “globes” said. The company will supply 5,000 assault drones in the first person (FPV) at an estimated cost of NIS 3,500 per unit, which makes the estimated cost of the winning tender a relatively more than 20 million NIS, including operational and virtual stations.
XTEND will supply 10 -inch drones, with a 2.5 kilograms payload capacity, which is generally sufficient for a small explosive position. It is believed that these are suicidal attack drones of a single use for combat battalions, probably at the company’s level.
Xtend beat rivals such as Robotican, Tehiru, Copterpix, Elbit Systems and others, even thought that the drone that will produce is not currently in his arsenal. This is a cheap attack drone (FPV), typical of the first drones that flew about five years ago, which knocked down the explosives balloons released by Hamas. The attack drones that will be supplied to the army are compared by experts from the drone industry with the attack drone produced by Dronix Industries, based in Petah Tikva, which finally did not win the tender.
As “balloons” previously revealed, the tender was criticized by drone companies due to the low price per unit, which dictates the simplest and cheap drone model and made it economically unfeasible for some, a Dae Tantetitter manufactured by a company based in Hong Kong. Initially, the Directorate of the R&D Defense Ministry (DDR & D) opposed this demand, especially, since it encourages the development of digital communication infrastructure for gifts.
The Chinese team application is apparently driven by cost considerations, even thought that Israeli companies know how to offer an alternative communication solution, with a higher price of tens of dollars per unit. While the United States is blocking the importation of Chinese teams for national infrastructure and military teams, IDF have already made an order for Chinese drones made by DJI and Autel, as balloons have previously reported.
Those who supported the terms of the tender affirm that it is a unidirectional video component, which only transmits to the drone operating helmet, and that in any case it is expected to undergo a process of “sterilization” by terrestrial forces, as much as possible.
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“Very little, too late”
The tender, although implements a supply of 5,000 units, contains an option to supply 5,000 additional units. This is the army movement will allow more soldiers to participate in this form of war, attacking the enemy using assault drones. But experts believe that this is a “very small, too late” assumption. In Ukraine, attack drones are transforming combat and helping to destroy armored and infantry forces on both sides. Ukraine has pledged to produce 4.5 million drones by the end of the year, while Russia is expected to produce 3 and 4 million drones.
XTEND is already known by the Ministry of Defense. He has equipped both IDF and Pentagon with Scorpio attack drones and was the first company in the United States to collect the approach to operate an armed suicide drone. In July, the company won a tender worth $ 10 million to supply drone swarms to the United States Department of Defense, which is expected to include the production of 1,000 scorpio systems.
For this order, XTEND has established a production line for these drones in Tampa, Florida. Estimates are that XTEND has surpassed companies such as Anduril, Bering and PDW in the United States, among other things, because it is the only one that allows the deployment of a swarm of armed drones with a proven combat experience.
No response to this XTEND report and the IDF spokesman have been received.
Posted by Globes, Israel Business News – Y.globes.co.il – on August 19, 2025.
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