Tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) start-up Bluebird Aero Systems Ltd. has raised $7 million in its second financing round. The investor is Athlone Global Security Ltd., a homeland security investment company.
Athlone made an initial investment in Bluebird Aero in April, and now owns 30% of the company with the completion of the financing round.
Bluebird Aero president and CEO Ronen Nadir, an aeronautical engineer, founded the company in 2002. The company develops advanced technological solutions for UAVs. Some of the company's UAVs are already in operation with the Israel Air Force and US Army. The IDF used the company's UAVs during the Second Lebanon War in 2006, and is currently using them for military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Bluebird has had more than $6 million in sales since it was founded. The company is bidding in a $30 million IDF ground forces tender as a subcontractor for Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd..
Bluebird's developments include a 1-kilogram micro-UAV, which can be launched within minutes from any location without the need for any launching infrastructure or preparations. After launch, the UAV provides tactical mapping on demand (TMOD) in near real-time.
Athlone is a US-Israeli holding company founded by IDF Maj.-Gen (res.) Doron Almog. The company has made 18 investments to date, including in Israeli start-ups DefenSoft Planning Systems Ltd., Emza Visual Sense Ltd., Icaros Software Ltd., voice biometrics company PerSay Inc., and Secure Vision Ltd., and in TraceGuard Technologies Inc. (Bulletin Board:TCGD).
Almog said, "Athlone believes that Bluebird's technology will lead the tactical UAV market to broader use by civilian agencies. The ease-of-use, availability, and fairly low user cost of Bluebird's UAVs will make them an effective alternative for homeland security applications in the civilian sector. They combine automated solutions, proprietary sensors, and decision-making aids on the basis of automated data processing at a quality not presently found in the market."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 11, 2007
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