R2 Wireless is pushing a passive RF sensing platform called ODIN into the machinery of modern war, where conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, Iran and Ukraine have accelerated the use of advanced technology, autonomous systems and RF-based attacks. The company says ODIN can detect, locate and identify any device emitting a wireless signal, turning the electromagnetic spectrum into a battlefield map for forces already drowning in connected hardware and electronic threats.
Who Controls the Spectrum
Anna Ahronheim wrote that in modern conflict zones, the most decisive activity often happens in the spectrum, where radio frequencies have become the primary arena where drones navigate, improvised weapons communicate and critical infrastructure is targeted. She said the electromagnetic spectrum is the connective tissue of modern life and that ODIN allows users to see the invisible battlespace. That is the new terrain: not just land, air or sea, but the signal space where the apparatus tracks, disrupts and weaponizes the systems ordinary people depend on.
R2 Wireless was founded in 2019 by Dr. Yiftach Richter and is led by CEO Onn Fenig and US CEO Cordell Bennigson. Fenig told Defense & Tech that ODIN was designed to give maneuvering forces wide RF spectrum situational awareness and to let them immediately respond to dynamic threats, even in places where traditional surveillance systems fail. He said the system scans the entire spectrum in real time and identifies everything from drones and IED triggers to smartphones, smartwatches and wireless headphones, while operating without transmitting so it can function discreetly in contested environments and integrate into any command-and-control system.
What the War Machine Sees
Fenig said the war in Ukraine demonstrated how quickly the electromagnetic spectrum became central to battlefield dominance. “They introduced drones on a tactical level,” he said, adding, “We’ve known about the big ones for years, but the Ukrainians understood early on that they needed to think creatively without the large budgets and tools that the Russians have. They took something off the shelf, cheap, and turned it into a lethal weapon.”
He said, “Eighty percent of a Russian brigade was eliminated by drones,” and added that, along with the recent war with Iran, “it’s a new asymmetric battlefield.” Fenig said, “Sensors and automated platforms have been weaponized,” and added, “Now, gunpowder is electronic with RF-based attacks shutting down communication networks. It’s no longer about rockets or bullets.” The language is blunt enough: the battlefield has been remade into a contest over signals, sensors and the ability to break the other side’s communications before bodies ever meet.
Bennigson, who is a retired Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier pilot and Forward Air Controller whose career spans decades in defense, manufacturing and national-security advisory roles, said, “defense and national security has always been a service,” and added, “My entire family is the same.” He said he joined R2 Wireless after seeing ODIN’s potential impact, saying, “It wasn’t just another tool in a toolkit,” and, “It created broad-based situational awareness.”
He said, “Everything today is connected, from radio, drones, GPS, to how we share information across computer systems. We see the devices, but not the connections. ODIN allows you to see, and if you can see, then you can see everything. It turns the invisible visible and that’s an incredible advantage.” That “advantage” is the point of the whole apparatus: visibility for those with power, vulnerability for everyone else caught inside the network.
The Arms Race Spreads
Bennigson said the company is working closely with multiple US agencies. “The majority of our efforts are with the [United States] Army because they’ve been doing the largest integration drills,” he said, adding that the company has also “had conversations with the [US] Navy, met with the Marine Corps, and shared information with Special Operations. We’ll also be at SOF Week and Innovation Alley.” Fenig said ODIN is already deployed across Israel’s eastern and southern border areas, supporting the IDF and border police, and that in Europe one of its largest customers is a major critical-infrastructure operator.
Fenig said, “We’re working with drones, ground vehicles, C2 nodes, sensors that complement ODIN, communications infrastructure, jamming systems, rockets, machine guns-everyone and everything in the value chain,” and added, “ODIN gives the overall situational awareness needed to complete the mission.” He said the platform was being evaluated for widespread deployment across US armored brigades and forward-deployed units. Fenig said, “We’re not even aware of everything we need to protect,” and added, “Threats evolve at a pace totally different from the past. Traditional SIGINT can’t keep up. If you have a communications link, we will catch you.”
Bennigson said, “It’s a continuous cat-and-mouse game, a new arms race,” and added, “Adversaries are always looking for the seams between the seams. Legacy systems do pieces of the puzzle, and once adversaries recognize that, they move to another piece.” He said, “ODIN does everything,” and added, “You can’t go around it in the spectrum. And when it’s part of a layered defense, you create something strong.” Bennigson also said, “As we saw throughout the war with Iran, the frontline doesn’t define where security needs to happen,” and added, “It needs to happen everywhere. We need to think not only about the frontlines but about what else we want to protect.”
R2 Wireless has raised more than $13 million and continues to expand across the US and Europe. Fenig and Bennigson said they are democratizing a capability that until now was limited to defense organizations. Fenig said ODIN is already proving itself and is out on the border in contested environments operationally.