Ondas expands Israeli defense operations with $33 million Aran acquisition
The U.S. defense technology company will acquire Aran Defense in its first purchase of operations from a company traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, paying entirely in Ondas shares.
American defense technology company Ondas is continuing to expand its operations in Israel, and for the first time is acquiring the operations of a company traded on the local stock exchange. The company has signed an agreement to acquire the development and manufacturing operations of Aran Research & Development through the purchase of all the shares of Aran Defense, the subsidiary that consolidates those activities, for NIS 100 million ($33.9 million).
Aran is traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange at a market value of approximately NIS 200 million ($67.8 million), meaning it is effectively selling the operations for a value equivalent to roughly half of its market capitalization. Aran's shares have risen 118% over the past 12 months.
About two weeks ago, David “Dadi” Barnea, the former head of the Mossad, was appointed chairman and global president of Ondas.
Aran provides end-to-end product development services, taking projects from the idea and characterization stage through mechanical and electronic design, software development, prototyping, 3D printing and serial production. Its activities span the defense, medical equipment, water, industrial and consumer sectors.
The operations being sold generated approximately NIS 54 million ($18.3 million) in revenue in 2025. Aran estimates that the transaction will generate a pre-tax profit of approximately NIS 75 million ($25.4 million).
Following the sale, Aran will retain its equipment business and representative offices for the plastics and polymers industry, as well as its environmental quality and waste-separation activities, 3D-printing operations, engineering services and engineer-placement business, software and computing activities, and medical ventures.
The transaction is not a cash deal. Ondas will pay the consideration in its own shares, with the number of shares to be issued determined according to the average price of Ondas shares during the five trading days preceding their allocation. Ten percent of the consideration will be placed in escrow for 18 months to secure Aran's obligations under the agreement.
In recent years, Ondas has emerged as a major defense technology company, with a market value of approximately $5.2 billion, following a sharp rise in its share price. Ondas shares have climbed approximately 145% over the past 12 months, rising from about $4 to approximately $9.80 following the publication of the company's latest reports last week.
Aran and Ondas have been negotiating the transaction since at least March. Aran disclosed that it had postponed reporting the negotiations, which began on March 25, because it feared that disclosure could harm the talks and the terms of the potential deal.
The transaction remains subject to a series of conditions, including approval from the Israel Competition Authority and additional regulatory approvals.
Under the agreement, Aran has also undertaken not to compete globally for four years following completion of the transaction in the development and production activities being sold to Ondas in the defense sector.
The acquisition is the latest in a series of Israeli defense and security deals by Ondas.
In May, the company acquired Israeli company Omnisys for $200 million. In August 2025, it acquired Apeiro Motion, an Israeli robotics company developing autonomous ground systems and mobile robots. That same month, Ondas acquired 51% of SPO, a defense manufacturer of optical components, as well as 4M, a company specializing in underground robotics.
In November 2025, Ondas acquired all of Israeli company Sentrycs, which develops technology for identifying and neutralizing drones. In 2023, it acquired Airobotics, the publicly traded Israeli company that developed autonomous drone systems.
The Aran transaction marks another step in Ondas' effort to build out its Israeli defense technology operations, while giving Aran a way to monetize one of its core activities at a valuation that is significantly below the company's current market capitalization.
