Skyforce is effectively replacing operators with a “brain” that thinks and makes decisions.
The Jerusalem Post reports on the Israeli startup Skyforce, which has rapidly entered the dual-use technology market for both civilian and military purposes.
In particular, Skyforce is developing artificial intelligence-based software that transforms manually operated platforms into fully autonomous multi-platform systems.
The AI-based software allows ordinary controlled devices (such as drones, robots, or military vehicles) to operate independently without constant human oversight.
Previously, to manage multiple drones, each had to be operated by a separate operator via a remote control.
Skyforce achieves the effect where drones independently determine their tasks, coordinate actions among themselves, and execute missions without constant commands. This is what is termed an “autonomous multi-platform system” — when several different machines (drones, robots, ground vehicles, etc.) work as a single team under the control of artificial intelligence, rather than individual operators.
In other words, Skyforce is effectively replacing operators with a “brain” that thinks and makes decisions.
The company’s CEO, Niv Davidai, refers to the developed software as the “brain of the system.”
“Our goal is to reduce the number of human operators,” he says. “People will no longer manually control a multi-platform operation. They will command it.”
Skyforce has a small team — just ten employees, including those who previously worked with Elon Musk at SpaceX. Despite its small size, the company is demonstrating results comparable to those of significantly larger organizations.
According to Davidai, Skyforce’s AI agents operate on the basis of edge computing — distributed computing technologies that combine large language models (LLM), vision-language models (VLM), and classical machine learning algorithms. They process critically important data directly on board the platform, eliminating the need for centralized control even in complex conditions.
“All decisions are made on-site,” explains Davidai. “When we deploy our edge agents in the field, all processing happens right there.”
The shift from centralized control to distributed autonomy marks a new paradigm in military economics.
In other words, instead of relying on expensive specialized systems, Skyforce offers the possibility of deploying a large number of affordable, including disposable, units that maintain combat effectiveness.
Although the startup's primary focus is on the military sector, the company’s CTO and co-founder, Dan Malovani, notes that work is also underway on dual-use solutions for autonomous platforms in agriculture, healthcare, and industry.
Skyforce's main market is in the USA. Recently, the company participated in the CET Sandbox event in Washington, where Israeli innovators met with representatives from DARPA, the Defense Innovation Unit, and the U.S. Air Force Office of Advanced Capabilities.
The meeting also included major defense corporations such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and BAE Systems, which expressed interest in the potential integration of Skyforce technologies.
CET Sandbox, aimed at connecting Israeli technologies with the American defense ecosystem, provided Skyforce with the opportunity to showcase the potential of its dual-use solutions. Although the defense sector remains the company's primary focus, its technologies can also be applied in civilian sectors such as agriculture, medicine, and industry.
Davidai, an entrepreneur with over twenty years of experience in the defense industry, shared that after the terrorist attack carried out by Hamas on October 7, he realized that the capabilities of his previous company were limited. At that point, he set the goal of “turning the operator into a commander — ensuring complete autonomy of missions.”
He added, “Our goal is to ensure that when swarms of drones and missiles appear, we can counter them. After everything Israel has gone through in the last two years, and in light of the war between Ukraine and Russia, it is clear that the future has already arrived.”
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