XTEND CEO Aviv Shapira says the future of drones is not really about drones. It is about software.
In an interview with Military.com, Shapira described XTEND as a company operating “at the intersection between AI and robotics,” building an operating system that allows humans to direct complex robotic missions remotely without manually flying drones or controlling robots. The company’s core product, XOS, is designed to let operators give mission-level commands while artificial intelligence handles much of the flying, navigation and coordination. XTEND describes XOS as a hardware-agnostic operating system that connects platforms, payloads, autonomy and human operators into one mission environment. “For us, it’s all about not flying the drone, but telling it what to do,” Shapira said in the interview. “It’s moving from piloting to commanding.”
That distinction matters because modern drone warfare and public safety operations increasingly require operators to manage more machines in more complex environments. Shapira said most of the market still relies on manual control, while XTEND is trying to reduce the cognitive load by allowing operators to command drones through mission intent.
Instead of steering a drone left or right, an operator might tell it to enter a building, clear an area, identify threats, or support a standoff response.
A Human-Guided Approach to Autonomy
XTEND’s model sits somewhere between full manual control and fully autonomous decision-making. Shapira emphasized that humans still give the mission intent, while the software manages the execution. That matters in military and law enforcement contexts, where “autonomy” can raise concerns about machines making lethal decisions on their own.
“We’re always going to leave the human for giving the intention,” Shapira said. “Humans will always define mission intent and retain decision authority.” The company’s public materials use similar language, describing XOS as a system that preserves “full human command authority” while enabling intelligent coordination among unmanned systems.
Shapira argued that AI-enabled drones can also create operational and humanitarian advantages compared to traditional munitions because they can adapt to changing conditions in real time. He contrasted drones with missiles, which generally continue toward a target autonomously after launch.
According to Shapira, an AI-enabled drone approaching a target can continue evaluating the environment, stop an engagement, change course, or return to base if conditions on the ground suddenly change.
“A missile is going to hit something,” Shapira said. “A drone can basically stop, change target or go back and land.” He said that flexibility can become especially important in urban warfare environments where civilians may unexpectedly enter an area after a strike has already been initiated.
XTEND’s product catalog includes systems for indoor close-quarters missions, outdoor strike and reconnaissance, and multi-drone teaming. Its XTENDER platform is described as an indoor system built for close-quarter combat, and also includes resilient indoor-outdoor navigation capabilities that allow it to operate in GPS-denied environments using onboard localization and sensor fusion rather than satellite navigation. Its WOLVERINE system is described as a lightweight multi-mission outdoor UAV for strike and reconnaissance, including reconnaissance and standoff operational missions.
Shapira said one common use case is a standoff or tactical entry scenario, where a drone can enter a building, scan rooms, locate a suspect or hostile actor, communicate with that person and, in some military settings, provide real-time situational awareness to operators. In his framing, the advantage is not just that the drone can fly indoors. It is that a person without extensive aviation training can use the system as a mission tool rather than as a manually piloted aircraft.
Software Lessons from the Battlefield
XTEND was founded in 2018 by Aviv Shapira, Matteo Shapira, Rubi Liani and Adir Tobi, and has developed into one of the more visible AI-enabled defense robotics companies.
The company has drawn attention partly because its systems have been used in recent operational deployments with defense and public safety organizations. XTEND says its systems are used by the U.S. Department of Defense and public safety organizations across the United States, Europe, Asia and allied nations.
Shapira said the rapid development cycle in wartime has changed how the company thinks about defense technology. He described Israeli teams making roughly 40 software upgrades during operational deployments because each mission generated video and data that could improve the next version of the software.
That creates a challenge for military procurement systems that traditionally treat munitions and drones more like hardware than software-enabled systems.
“The U.S. market is not there yet when it comes to deploying smart munitions in war and connecting them to the cloud,” Shapira said. “They look at these as munitions, as hardware. You don’t look at it as software-enabled, which is a big revolution that is going to happen with the military.”
Defense, Public Safety and Going Public
XTEND has continued to expand its U.S. footprint. In 2025, the company completed a $70 million Series B round to scale production of autonomous AI robots, expand U.S. and global production and support allied defense and public safety deployments. The company has also opened a U.S. headquarters and drone production facility in Tampa.
Shapira said XTEND is also looking beyond defense into security and public safety. He described interest in “drone as first responder” models, where drones could launch from police vehicles or fixed locations, approach a scene, communicate with people, and potentially use nonlethal tools or de-escalation techniques.
The company is also preparing to go public through a planned Nasdaq listing. A February 2026 report said XTEND planned to list through a merger with JFB Construction Holdings at an estimated valuation of about $1.5 billion.
Eric Trump also recently invested in the company through the merger deal, according to a February 2026 report discussing XTEND’s planned public-market debut and expanding role in AI-enabled defense robotics.
For Shapira, the company’s bet is that robotics will increasingly be defined less by the physical drone, robot, or vehicle and more by the software layer controlling it. The robot is the body. XOS is meant to be the nervous system.
Read the full article here