With drones and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) becoming a critical part of any modern battlefield, the southern city of Yeroham is positioning itself as a key location for Israel’s UAS and drone industry, complete with a new innovation center and UAV test field.
With wide-open spaces surrounding the desert city, Yeroham might be the perfect place for the nearly 300 UAV and drone technology companies to test their platforms.
The National Program for Economic Growth (a joint program of the Ministry of Economy and Industry and JDC-Tevet) identified the defense industry in general, and drones in particular, as a significant potential engine of success for Israel, and established the Defense & Cyber Cluster led by Elinor Yakobson, leading UAV expert and Founder & Chairman of UVID Alon Unger and Mona Ben Yishai, director of Economic Development at the Yeroham Municipality.
Untapped Potential
According to Yakobson, Israel holds a “distinct technological edge and global leadership potential, with export opportunities worth billions of dollars annually.”
Her team has mapped the sector’s key needs and bottlenecks and formulated a national action plan to unlock the country’s “full economic, technological, and social potential.”
The team, Yakobson said, wants to focus on building a specific team/forum between government bodies to develop a plan addressing all regulatory and financial gaps that currently exist.
The initiative is supported by Yeroham’s Mayor Nili Aharon and Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat and is built on four main pillars: advocacy, infrastructure, business development, and human capital.
Together, Ben Yishai said, it would create a sustainable technological and business environment.
Critical growth engine
Unger, who has been involved in the UAV industry for over three decades, emphasized to Defense & Tech the need to promote the country’s UAV sector as one that, given global trends and rising demand, is a critical national growth engine.
According to Unger, Israel’s foes “have understood the strategic necessity of this sector and really focused on it. Hezbollah excelled at it, China has understood that it’s an economic revolution around the world and has been able to fill the gaps where the Americans and the West failed.”
“Israel doesn’t understand the potential it has in the world of drones,” he said, adding that despite the country understanding how strategic drones are due to the war, “we are on the way to losing out. Israel needs to be one of the top five in the drone industry, but we are going to lose that, especially in the dual-use and commercial drone sector.”
Yeroham is home to Israel’s first national test field for drones and UAVs, developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport, Ayalon Highways, and the Ministry of Defense. The field also serves as an incubator for startups, provides R&D infrastructure, and allows for the testing of new technologies in a safe and
controlled environment.
According to the National Program for Economic Growth, approximately $4.69 billion has been invested in these companies.
Like a Merkava, but in the air
Yakobson added that “Yeroham is serving as a living lab for UAV-driven regional development: integrating vocational training, technological education, and industrial expansion to create quality jobs and foster deep innovation in Israel’s southern periphery.”
According to Ben Yishai, they have recognized the potential of the Negev in terms of open airspace for drones, and they aim to assist companies and startups in establishing low-cost areas for drone development and manufacturing within the city.
“We understand that we have an extra leg-up with the open airspace,” she said, adding that the city already has the infrastructure for drone innovation with Aerolabs, DeserTech & Climate Innovation Center, and SkyTech Center.
The SkyTech Center, developed by Cannovation Center Israel, is planned to open in 2026 and will feature not only research and development (R&D) labs, but production and assembly lines, as well as training and testing facilities.
“I truly believe that UAVs are one of Israel’s next great growth engines – with the power to transform our economy, workforce, and society,” Yakobson said.
But, in order to maintain and grow its global edge, Israel has to establish a leadership framework, Unger said, stressing that “the idea to manufacture local drones is like a Merkava tank. It needs to be done.”