Ondas (NASDAQ: ONDS) backs battlefield drone startup DFG in $11m U.S. defense push

Ondas Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ONDS) has announced its intent to invest up to $11 million in Ukraine-based Drone Fight Group (DFG) through its strategic platform, Ondas Capital, marking its first formal capital deployment into combat-proven unmanned aerial systems developed under frontline conditions. The move signals a deliberate push to bring Ukrainian battlefield innovation into the U.S. and allied defense industrial base, while reinforcing Ondas’ broader multi-domain unmanned systems strategy.

The proposed investment will support localization of DFG’s strike and surveillance drone platforms in the United States, including NDAA-compliant manufacturing, integrated customer training, and long-term sustainment support. It also signals Ondas’ growing ambitions to act as a bridge between wartime-tested autonomy and defense modernization programs across NATO-aligned markets.

Why is Ondas betting on Ukrainian drone systems for its next phase of defense expansion?

The strategic significance of the proposed investment rests on the combat maturity of DFG’s drone systems. Unlike Western prototypes still in testing or limited deployment, Drone Fight Group has iterated its designs under live operational pressure. Its portfolio spans strike-optimized FPV drones, ISR drones, mission autonomy technologies, and simulation training environments, all of which have been tested and evolved through continuous use in high-threat conditions on the Ukrainian frontlines.

Ondas Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Eric Brock framed the investment as an opportunity to inject “combat-proven innovation” into U.S. and allied industrial bases. This is not a gesture of support alone—it is a calculated effort to commercialize validated warfighting tools that have demonstrated effectiveness against one of the most technologically equipped adversaries in modern conflict.

The partnership will also be showcased at a Silicon Valley event—hosted by Ondas Capital—where DFG will publicly demonstrate its frontline-proven drones in the United States for the first time. The company’s Ukrainian instructors, including a frontline expert codenamed “Sasquatch,” are expected to present real-time operational perspectives, reflecting the practical battlefield DNA that Western investors and defense strategists are increasingly prioritizing.

How does this align with Ondas Capital’s broader defense modernization strategy?

Ondas Capital, launched as a strategic investment and advisory platform under Ondas Holdings, aims to source, localize, and scale advanced unmanned and autonomous systems across air, ground, and counter-drone domains. Its creation reflects Ondas’ ambition to not only sell proprietary technology but also act as a defense technology integrator, combining capital deployment with regulatory navigation, procurement engagement, and post-sale lifecycle support.

The DFG investment fits squarely within this mandate. By investing in a company already recognized for rapid design iteration and battlefield effectiveness, Ondas sidesteps much of the typical R&D lag and positions itself to offer products that are already operationally validated.

Moreover, DFG’s closed-loop development model—where design refinements are directly informed by real-time combat data—mirrors emerging best practices in high-threat system development. It allows for faster iteration cycles and more survivable systems, which are increasingly critical as defense buyers shift from peacetime procurement frameworks to accelerated field capability acquisition models.

What does this mean for procurement programs and defense industrial base resilience?

The timing of the Ondas–DFG relationship coincides with heightened interest among U.S. and European defense establishments in non-legacy, rapidly deployable unmanned aerial systems. Traditional primes have struggled to meet the demand for low-cost, scalable, and disposable drones that can be rapidly fielded and iterated upon.

In that context, DFG offers a plug-and-play solution to a systemic gap: how to bridge the operational urgency of frontline needs with the risk-averse and bureaucratic pace of most Western procurement cycles. By entering through Ondas Capital—a U.S.-based intermediary with existing government and industry relationships—DFG may be able to bypass traditional barriers that have slowed foreign defense tech adoption in the past.

Ondas’ proposed support includes not just capital but also long-term strategic guidance to position DFG’s systems within multi-year procurement pipelines, including potential homeland security and critical infrastructure protection applications. This would elevate DFG from a conflict-born innovator into a repeatable supplier for NATO-aligned defense markets.

How does this fit into Ondas’ evolving platform strategy for unmanned systems?

The DFG investment underscores Ondas’ pivot from being a hardware vendor to a platform orchestrator in the unmanned systems market. Through subsidiaries such as American Robotics, Airobotics, Apeiro Motion, and Sentrycs, Ondas Autonomous Systems has built a portfolio that includes FAA-certified small UAS platforms, autonomous counter-drone systems, tethered UAVs, and cyber-over-RF countermeasures.

By integrating DFG’s proven drones into this ecosystem, Ondas expands its product coverage while also improving credibility with defense customers who increasingly prefer validated field platforms over speculative technologies.

This expansion comes amid growing geopolitical pressures to strengthen the domestic and allied defense industrial base. The Pentagon and NATO have repeatedly emphasized the need for NDAA-compliant localization, redundancy in supply chains, and technology adoption that aligns with near-peer conflict scenarios. Ondas Capital’s strategy of investing in wartime-born technologies while localizing production could prove particularly attractive to these stakeholders.

What are the execution risks and integration challenges ahead?

While the strategic rationale is compelling, execution risk remains high. The success of this partnership will depend on Ondas’ ability to navigate several friction points:

First, U.S. defense procurement processes are infamously slow and complex. Even with NDAA compliance and combat validation, integrating a foreign-born platform into government purchasing channels requires persistent advocacy, certifications, and political capital.

Second, localization is easier said than done. Transferring rapid-production capabilities from a warzone to a regulated U.S. industrial base will introduce significant friction. Intellectual property transfer, manufacturing process adaptation, and workforce training are nontrivial hurdles.

Third, while DFG’s technologies have been proven in Ukraine, their performance in other theaters—such as the Indo-Pacific or arctic regions—remains untested. Adaptability to different environmental, electronic warfare, and logistical constraints will be a key metric for sustained success.

Ondas will also need to show that its expanded unmanned portfolio can translate into revenue growth, not just strategic headlines. Investors will be looking for signs that procurement traction is materializing, especially given the company’s ambitions to become a key node in the defense autonomy value chain.

What signals does this send to the broader defense innovation ecosystem?

This development is part of a broader shift in Western defense postures, where nontraditional vendors and foreign innovators are increasingly being brought into the fold to accelerate capability delivery. Startups, university labs, and foreign battlefield innovators—once considered too niche or unproven—are now seen as critical to outpacing adversaries in autonomous systems and drone warfare.

For other Ukrainian defense firms, the Ondas–DFG deal could serve as a template for market entry, especially if it succeeds in unlocking U.S. and European government contracts. Likewise, Western primes may start looking more seriously at strategic partnerships or acquisitions of combat-proven drone companies to close gaps in their own portfolios.

For now, Ondas appears to be ahead of the curve—both in identifying the opportunity and in building a platform to execute on it.

What are the key takeaways from Ondas’ planned investment in Drone Fight Group?

• Ondas Holdings Inc. plans to invest up to $11 million in Ukrainian drone innovator Drone Fight Group via its Ondas Capital platform.
• The investment marks the first capital deployment by Ondas Capital and aims to bring combat-tested FPV and ISR drones into the U.S. and allied defense markets.
• DFG’s battlefield-proven unmanned systems offer rapid production, adaptability, and real-world validation, positioning them favorably for defense procurement cycles.
• Ondas will support NDAA-compliant manufacturing, strategic integration, and go-to-market efforts to accelerate adoption across multiple allied geographies.
• This move aligns with Ondas’ strategy to build a multi-domain unmanned systems ecosystem that spans air, ground, and counter-UAS platforms.
• Execution risks include regulatory complexity, localization challenges, and the need to demonstrate commercial traction beyond frontline validation.
• The partnership signals growing Western openness to integrating foreign combat-tested innovation into long-term defense industrial strategies.
• If successful, this could reshape how NATO-aligned countries source next-generation autonomous systems by valuing battlefield performance over pedigree.