The startup was founded by veterans of Israel’s air defense and technology sectors.
By The IDF Club
Israeli defense technology startup Skapion has secured $36 million in seed funding to develop an air defense platform designed specifically to counter large-scale swarms of attack drones.
The company says the system is being built to confront one of the fastest-growing challenges facing modern militaries: coordinated assaults involving dozens or even hundreds of inexpensive drones launched at the same time.
Skapion plans to use the funding to expand its engineering team, advance development and testing, integrate the platform with existing defense networks, and deepen cooperation with government and military agencies in Israel, the United States and other countries.
Most current air defense systems were developed to intercept individual aircraft or a limited number of incoming threats. Skapion says its platform is intended to operate at a much larger scale while lowering the cost of each interception.
The company argues that cheap attack drones have created a serious imbalance for defenders, who may be forced to launch costly interceptor missiles against far less expensive targets.
Skapion has released few details about how its system works. It has not said whether the platform will use lasers, electronic warfare, interceptor drones or a combination of technologies, revealing only that it is designed to identify and defeat numerous hostile drones simultaneously.
The startup was founded by veterans of Israel’s air defense and technology sectors.
Its chief architect, Brig. Gen. (res.) Pini Yungman, previously headed Rafael’s Air and Missile Defense Systems Division and was involved in the development of Iron Dome and David’s Sling.
Chief Executive Officer Ido Bar-On previously worked at XTEND, where he led engagement with defense and government customers in international markets.
The founding team also includes Chief Technology Officer Gal Goren, Enlight Renewable Energy co-founder Tzafrir Yoeli, and Yaron Karp.
Skapion is headquartered in Washington, D.C., while its research and development operations are based in Ramat Gan. The company currently employs more than 20 people in Israel and is recruiting additional specialists in software, electronics, robotics, autonomy and aerospace engineering.
