Ondas Invests $11M in Ukrainian Combat Drone Maker, Will Debut Battle-Tested Tech in Silicon Valley

We’ve been tracking how Ukrainian battlefield innovation is reshaping the global drone industry, and today’s announcement from Ondas Holdings validates what we’ve been reporting for months: combat-proven Ukrainian drone technology is coming to American shores.

Ondas (NASDAQ: ONDS) has announced its intent to invest up to $11 million in Drone Fight Group (DFG), a Ukrainian developer of FPV strike drones, ISR platforms, and autonomous mission systems that have been forged in the most intense combat environment on Earth.

This is Ondas Capital’s first strategic investment, and it’s a deliberate bet on the Ukrainian rapid-innovation model over traditional Pentagon procurement. The deal includes plans for NDAA-compliant, U.S.-based manufacturing and a first-of-its-kind Silicon Valley event where tech leaders, defense buyers, and investors will see DFG’s drones for the first time in America, with a frontline instructor nicknamed “Sasquatch” presenting.

What Drone Fight Group Brings to the Table

DFG isn’t a startup building theoretical products in a lab. This is a Ukrainian military-technology company running full-cycle drone development, from R&D through frontline deployment. Their portfolio includes strike-optimized FPV platforms, reconnaissance drones, autonomous mission technologies, and combat simulator systems built on actual battlefield data.

The company operates what it calls an “innovation circle,” a closed-loop development model that enables rapid iteration based on real-time combat feedback. This is the Ukrainian approach we’ve documented extensively: build fast, test under fire, refine immediately, repeat. It’s the same model that allowed Ukraine to achieve 100% domestic FPV drone production and turn former florists into combat drone manufacturers.

“Ukraine has become the proving ground for modern unmanned systems, driving unprecedented innovation under real operational pressures,” said Eric Brock, Chairman and CEO of Ondas. “Our planned investment in Drone Fight Group represents a deliberate step to bring this combat-proven innovation into the United States and allied industrial base.”

Silicon Valley Event: Frontline Drones Meet Defense Buyers

Ondas Capital will host DFG at what it describes as a “first-of-its-kind U.S. event” in Silicon Valley. Tech leaders, defense industry decision-makers, and investors will get direct access to Ukrainian unmanned systems that have been tested and proven in active combat operations.

The event will feature DFG’s frontline instructor “Sasquatch,” giving American audiences a rare opportunity to hear directly from operators who build and deploy these systems in real warfare conditions. This isn’t a trade show demo of theoretical capabilities. It’s combat veterans showing what actually works when lives are on the line.

Ondas’ Growing Defense Ecosystem

This investment fits into Ondas’ aggressive multi-domain strategy. In August 2025, the company invested in Norway’s Rift Dynamics and secured exclusive U.S. distribution for the Wåsp FPV+ attritable drone, with an initial order of 500 units. In November 2025, Ondas acquired Sentrycs, an Israeli counter-drone company with cyber-based detection and takeover technology deployed in over 25 countries.

The DFG investment expands Ondas’ portfolio across aerial, ground, and counter-UAS domains. The company’s stated goal is building a “systems of systems” architecture that defense agencies can deploy anywhere, combining autonomous platforms, sensors, communications, and effectors into one integrated ecosystem.

The NDAA-Compliant Manufacturing Angle

A critical element of this deal is Ondas Capital’s plan to support “localization via U.S.-based, NDAA-compliant manufacturing and integrated customer support, training and sustainment.” This addresses the elephant in the room: even if Ukrainian drones are superior, U.S. government buyers need domestic, compliant supply chains.

The Blue UAS ecosystem has been in chaos. We reported in March 2025 that eight vendors were dropped from the Blue sUAS list in a single week. The component supply chain for NDAA-compliant drones remains fragmented and expensive. Ondas is positioning DFG’s technology to enter that market with a localization strategy that could bypass some of those bottlenecks.

DroneXL’s Take

This investment is validation, not just of Drone Fight Group, but of the entire Ukrainian rapid-innovation thesis. We’ve been documenting how $400 Ukrainian FPV drones outperform $100,000 American Switchblades in peer warfare conditions. We’ve covered the gamified “Call of Duty” points system that turned Ukrainian drone warfare into an industrial-scale attrition machine. Now a U.S. company is saying: we want to bring that innovation model here.

The contrast with traditional Pentagon procurement couldn’t be sharper. The Defense Department wants a million drones in 2-3 years, but the domestic supply chain for NDAA-compliant components barely exists. Meanwhile, Ukraine iterates at wartime speed, producing millions of effective combat systems annually through distributed manufacturing networks.

There’s an irony here worth noting. The same security establishment pushing DJI bans and demanding expensive “Blue UAS” alternatives is now watching U.S. companies import Ukrainian technology that was itself forged by necessity, after Western weapons systems proved too slow, too expensive, and too vulnerable to electronic warfare. Ukraine didn’t have the luxury of billion-dollar procurement programs. They had to innovate or die. That urgency created systems that actually work.

Whether this deal closes and scales remains to be seen. Ondas notes it’s “subject to finalization of terms, entry into a definitive agreement and compliance requirements.” But the strategic intent is clear: battlefield-proven Ukrainian drone tech, manufactured in America, sold to the Pentagon and allied forces. If Ondas executes, they could become a bridge between Ukraine’s innovation engine and the U.S. defense market that desperately needs it.

What do you think about U.S. companies investing in Ukrainian combat drone technology? Share your thoughts in the comments below.