Israeli company Xtend, which specializes in human-guided autonomous drones for use by militaries and law enforcement, announced on Tuesday that it will supply hundreds of its Wolverine systems to the U.S. Department of Defense.
The drones were developed under the joint leadership of the DoD and Israel’s Ministry of Defense, and are designed to protect U.S. military forces in the field.
The contract follows joint Israeli and American research and development involving the Israeli Defense Ministry, the DoD’s Irregular Warfare Technical Support Directorate and Xtend.
“Made in the U.S., the small, lightweight and rugged Wolverine is affordable, versatile and has low power consumption,” Xtend said in a statement.
“Easy to use, it enables operators, even those with no flight experience, to perform extremely precise remote tasks, maneuvers and actions in complex environments, indoor or outdoor, with minimal training and maintenance,” added the company.
Operators enjoy complete sensory awareness by using advanced virtual- and augmented-reality technologies, coupled with advanced machine-learning flight algorithms.
“Using a wearable lightweight system and a natural hand gesture-recognition controller, operators immerse themselves in the remote environment without physical risk,” said the company. This enables combat forces to “be everywhere”—to receive real-time visuals and perform precise pick-and-drop tasks.
“The Wolverine system was developed in direct response to the need of forces to conduct complex field and outdoor missions while maintaining force protection and without making contact with the enemy,” explained Gadi Bar-Ner, chief business officer of Xtend. “For the first time, any user can operate a drone intuitively and without any prior training, giving forces complete autonomy in the field. XTEND systems are combat-proven and used with great success by the Israel Defense Forces in defending borders and forces.”
