US-based Palladyne AI and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have agreed to a strategic partnership that will see Palladyne AI manufacture, integrate, and market IAI’s loitering munition systems to the US Department of War (DoW).
The agreement grants Palladyne AI exclusive rights to produce and promote IAI’s HARPY, HAROP and Mini HARPY systems for the US market.
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According to the company, these systems can locate and attack enemy sair defence systems while providing long-range strike options in operational and tactical situations.
Under the agreement, Palladyne AI will adapt the munitions to suit US operational needs and manufacture components and subsystems domestically. IAI will supply engineering support and key subsystems for the programme.
Palladyne AI president and chief executive officer Ben Wolff said: “The US defence industrial base needs battle-proven loitering munitions capabilities it can field now.”
Continuing, Wolff said the partnership would combine IAI’s systems with Palladyne AI’s US engineering and manufacturing capabilities to produce system faster than would be the case through a clean-sheet development programme.
“We built that stack in 2025. This partnership is the first major proof of what it can do,” Wolff added.
The HARPY and HAROP systems have been used to target and disable air defence infrastructure such as radar sites, missile launchers, and command centres.
Both systems operate autonomously, seeking and engaging hostile targets on the battlefield. Features cited include advanced sensors and strike precision, attributes which, the firms state, have supported the systems’ effectiveness in gaining air superiority during military operations.
The Mini HARPY combines aspects of both the HARPY and HAROP, equipped with electro-optical/infrared sensors as well as a dedicated Anti-Radiation seeker to identify and neutralise adversary emitters.
The system is intended to equip tactical units with tools for engaging enemy air defences and Counter-UAS systems.
IAI Space Missiles and Systems, executive VP and GM Guy Barlev said: “This new strategic partnership will bring our combat-proven long-range loitering munitions to the US market. We selected Palladyne AI for its combination of advanced autonomy, engineering expertise and certified US manufacturing capabilities.”
The partnership follows an increase in the DoW’s investment in loitering munitions aimed at expanding its military capabilities.
In its budget blueprint for 2027, the Department of the Air Force allocated $600m to develop a family of affordable mass munitions with the aim of expanding the range of options available to commanders and planners.
