{"id":422909,"date":"2026-05-03T06:43:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T06:43:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/422909\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T06:43:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T06:43:20","slug":"autonomous-and-backpack-portable-israeli-drone-enters-us-army-frontline-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/422909\/","title":{"rendered":"Autonomous and backpack-portable: Israeli drone enters US Army frontline service"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elbit Systems<\/a>\u2019 FUSE division will supply its THOR Group 2<\/a> uncrewed aircraft system to the US Army through a partnership with Mistral Inc., the companies announced on Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The deal follows a US Army contract awarded to Mistral by the Army Contracting Command for the procurement of THOR systems and mission payloads to support the service\u2019s company\u2011level small unmanned aerial system (UAS) requirements.<\/p>\n

Under the agreement, FUSE and Mistral will deliver the THOR Group 2 UAS, a backpack\u2011portable, fully autonomous multirotor aircraft<\/a> designed for rapid deployment. Avandra LLC, Elbit Systems\u2019 US subsidiary, will work with FUSE to provide training and technical support inside the United States.<\/p>\n

The Army intends to use the system to provide small tactical units with an organic aerial capability<\/a> for missions such as reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition, communications relay, resupply, and limited cargo delivery.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thor is a fully autonomous, multi-rotor mini-UAS that troops can carry in a backpack for tactical or reconnaissance missions.<\/p>\n

\"AA Thor, a VTOL-UAV (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) drone is seen on display at the Elbit-Systems stand at the XPONENTIAL Europe autonomous systems and robotics trade fair on March 26, 2026 in Dusseldorf, Germany. (credit: ANDREAS RENTZ\/GETTY IMAGES)<\/p>\n

It features autonomous takeoff and landing, autonomous mission execution, and the ability to operate multiple platforms at once. Its modular design allows payloads of up to 10 kilograms (22 pounds), to be swapped quickly as mission needs change, such as electronic warfare, ISR, or targeting.<\/p>\n

The tactical mule platform is integrated with an electro-optic or infrared sensor and has an endurance of a maximum of 70 minutes and up to 1,000 meters in the air.<\/p>\n

Executives from both companies said the US Army\u2019s selection of THOR reflects confidence in the system\u2019s maturity and adaptability.<\/p>\n

Yoav Poizner, vice president of marketing for Elbit Systems C4I & Cyber, said the decision \u201cvalidates the technological and operational advantages\u201d of the platform. Yoav Banai, senior vice president for business development at Mistral, said the award focuses on delivering a proven capability quickly and tailoring it to real operational conditions.<\/p>\n

FUSE, formally Flying Production, is part of Elbit Systems\u2019 C4I & Cyber division and develops AI\u2011driven autonomous UAS and VTOL systems.<\/p>\n

Buying spree<\/p>\n

Mistral, based in Bethesda, Maryland, provides advanced systems and integration services to US defense customers. It\u2019s been awarded several contracts by the US Army along with an Israeli drone company, UVision.<\/p>\n

In January, the two companies announced that the Hero-90 loitering munition (suicide drone) had been selected to take part in the US Army\u2019s Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program. LASSO is described as an urgent initiative to deliver a man-portable, precision anti-armor capability to Brigade Combat Teams for rapid, lethal engagement of armored threats.<\/p>\n

In October, Mistral and UVision secured a $982 million contract to supply HERO 120 loitering munitions under the US Army’s Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS) program. The contract covers system deliveries, training, and lifecycle sustainment. The HERO 120, developed by UVision and integrated by Mistral, offers tactical units a lightweight, high-precision loitering munition capable of engaging targets in complex environments.<\/p>\n

Several months earlier, in June, UVision and Mistral won another US government contract worth $73.5 million to supply Hero-120SF loitering munitions to the US Special Operations Command, including munitions, spare parts, engineering change proposals, new equipment training, and conversion from organic precision fires-mounted to medium-range precision-strike systems.<\/p>\n

In late April, Mistral was acquired by Ondas Holdings for $175 million.<\/p>\n

A press release by Ondas said that the merger would provide the company with \u201c direct prime contractor access to US Army and Special Operations contract vehicles, while adding US-based manufacturing, integration, and federal contracting infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n

The move marks a significant step in Ondas’ strategy to expand direct participation in large-scale US government programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the additional scale, technology portfolio, and global reach of Ondas, we are even better positioned to support our domestic defense customers, industrial base, and industry partners as mission requirements continue to evolve,\u201d Mistral CEO Eyal Banai said.<\/p>\n

Founded over a decade ago in the US, Ondas has been on a buying spree of Israeli defense companies over the past year, acquiring over 10 companies in the fields of military robotics and drones, in an attempt to become a major player in Israel\u2019s growing defense industry.<\/p>\n

Last month, Ondas Inc. announced that its subsidiary, 4M Defense, had won a competitive tender for a large-scale demining project along a strategic border region in Israel. Demining is the detection and removal or destruction of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) to make land safe for civilian use. The award is expected to generate more than $50 million in near-term and follow-on orders, according to the company.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Elbit Systems\u2019 FUSE division will supply its THOR Group 2 uncrewed aircraft system to the US Army through…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":422910,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[114,17469,16606,20491,97833,85,46,47993],"class_list":["post-422909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-defense-tech","tag-drone","tag-elbit","tag-elbit-systems","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-us-army"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=422909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422909\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=422909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=422909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}