Ondas Inc. has announced that the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has awarded a more than $6 million contract to DZYNE Technologies, LLC , now part of Ondas, to advance the Long‑Range Grasshopper, an autonomous, runway‑independent precision aerial delivery system designed for extended‑range logistics in contested and austere environments.
“This award is another important validation of Ondas’ strategy to build a leading autonomous defence platform around technologies that solve urgent national security challenges,”
said Eric Brock, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ondas.
“By bringing DZYNE’s proven engineering talent and advanced autonomous logistics capabilities into Ondas Sentinel, we are expanding the depth and scale of our defence portfolio while creating new opportunities to support U.S. and allied customers.”
The award also reflects the broader strategic value of Ondas’ recent acquisition of DZYNE, extending the Company’s autonomous defence portfolio into mission-critical logistics capabilities.
“Long‑range, low‑cost autonomous delivery is a mission imperative for the future fight,”
said Ryan Hartman, Chief Executive Officer of Ondas Sentinel.
“AFRL’s continued partnership underscores the Long‑Range Grasshopper’s transformative potential. With this technology and team now fully integrated into Ondas Sentinel, we are advancing a capability that directly strengthens resilient, distributed sustainment for contested operations.”
The contract supports continued development across Long‑Range Grasshopper units and Grasshopper glider units. The effort builds on the mature Grasshopper glider architecture, which has seen extensive operational use delivering up to 500 pounds of critical payload with precision into contested or infrastructure‑limited environments. Leveraging this proven foundation enables rapid development cycles, reliable performance, and a clear path to scalable fielding for the jet‑powered Long‑Range Grasshopper variant. Development under the award will focus on:
- Extended‑range flight and endurance
- Modular payload integration
- Autonomous navigation in GPS‑limited and GPS‑denied environments
- Enhanced reliability and manufacturability for large‑scale fielding
These capabilities strengthen precision autonomous delivery from a wide range of platforms with minimal infrastructure, enabling rapid resupply while allowing crewed aircraft to remain outside threat envelopes.
AFRL’s investment reflects the growing need for small, low-cost, long-range unmanned systems that can sustain distributed forces under threat. Ondas Sentinel’s commercial manufacturing approach is designed to deliver high-performance systems at dramatically lower cost, supporting the Air Force’s demand for scalable, attritable logistics solutions at speed.
The Long‑Range Grasshopper is part of Ondas’ expanding autonomous defense portfolio, which includes long‑endurance ISR platforms (LEAP and ULTRA) and a suite of counter‑UAS systems.
Source: Ondas