Significant Advancement in Israel's National Drone Project

The Ministry of Transportation is promoting smart transportation in Israel - including in the air. As part of the innovation vision led by the Minister of Transportation, Miri Regev, a series of significant innovation projects were approved in the 2026 budget as part of the annual work plan, including a significant upgrade in the national drone project.

The project, operated through the Ayalon Highways Company and in collaboration with the Innovation Authority and government offices, regulators, local authorities, and technology companies, is now moving from flight trials and point demonstrations to practical examination of continuous operation of drones for commercial and public uses.

The Innovation Division at the Ministry of Transportation leads and accompanies a series of projects to promote smart transportation in Israel, including the development of trial infrastructures, promoting technological solutions, and implementing innovative models in local authorities and execution companies. The budget approved by the government will allow a transition from proving technological capability to examining full operational models, while maintaining safety, advanced regulation, and public value.

After about five years of intensive activity that included thousands of trial flights, safety tests, development of systems for managing airspace, and building regulatory infrastructure, the national drone project is entering a new stage. For the first time, the focus is not only on flight capabilities and technology, but on examining how a future drone market will actually operate: connecting operators, continuous coordination, daily operation, creating work processes, and practical understanding of the requirements for operating commercial aerial services on a wide scale.

In the new stage, future models of drone services in the fields of health, logistics, and urban services will be examined. In the health system, scenarios of transferring medical equipment and blood between hospitals will be examined, among other things in Jerusalem and Safed, with the aim of examining the establishment of fast and equal aerial medical transportation routes. In the urban space, field trials will take place in various authorities, examining capabilities such as real-time damage detection, aerial security patrols, rapid response to urban center calls, urban supervision, and locating unauthorized drones. At the same time, in Yarkon Park and other areas, future models of aerial food deliveries will be examined.

In the field of logistics, scenarios simulating full commercial operation will be examined, including deliveries on fixed routes, integrating drones into the retail supply chain, and transferring equipment to gas rigs and ships as an alternative to manned vehicles. At the same time, the technological infrastructure at the heart of the project will be examined, including dealing with communication and GPS disturbances, changing weather conditions, flying in an active aviation environment, and integrating artificial intelligence systems for anomaly detection, real-time situation analysis, and monitoring non-cooperative aircraft.

The budget of the national project will stand at about 17 million shekels, and will be dedicated to expanding trial capabilities, developing management and control systems, collecting real data, and supporting the regulatory work of the Civil Aviation Authority, in preparation for the integration of civilian drone services in the coming years.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev: "Israel is one of the leading countries in the world in the development and implementation of innovative aviation technologies, and our role is to maintain our position at the forefront of technology and regulation. The upgrade in the national drone project is a clear expression of the innovation vision that the Ministry of Transportation leads, and the perception of 'connecting Israel' also in the aerial dimension. The transition to a stage of examining commercial and public services, while dealing with complex regulatory and safety challenges, places Israel at the forefront of global innovation and gives a significant advantage to the Israeli industry, the economy, and the citizens of the state."