Esh-Tech, an Israeli defense tech startup, has raised $18 million in a funding round led by Kinetica Partners as it moves from development toward large-scale production of its DroneLight counter-drone system. The company said the round was backed by Mahari, Renaton Capital, Q Fund, 2i Ventures, Hinkley, FFG, several angel backers and the Israel Innovation Authority. The announcement came as Hezbollah's escalating use of explosive and first-person-view drones emerged as one of the most urgent threats facing Israeli forces along the northern border.
The Jerusalem Post article, by Moshe Gerstley, was published on July 1, 2026 at 14:07. It says drones have accounted for a growing share of attacks on IDF troops in southern Lebanon since fighting resumed in the north earlier this year. Israeli soldiers have in some cases resorted to improvised defenses, including fishing nets sourced from Galilee fishermen, while the military works toward a more effective and universal countermeasure. Fiber-optic-guided FPV drones have proven resistant to jamming and electronic countermeasures, and defense officials have raised concerns Hezbollah may have extended the range of its FPV drones far enough to threaten larger northern cities in Israel.
The Technology Behind DroneLight
Esh-Tech says the capital will support the establishment of a domestic production line, the finalization of development work, expanded hiring, and the scaling of international sales and delivery operations. The Omer-based company develops laser-based defense technologies designed for scalable and rapid response against aerial threats. Its flagship DroneLight system uses pulsed-laser interception to provide a cost-effective counter-UAS capability intended for deployment across a range of operational environments.
According to Esh-Tech, the system carried out successful operational testing under real-world conditions. The company's CEO, Erez Riahi, said the company is "fully focused on bringing DroneLight into operational service and delivering meaningful impact where it matters most." Esh-Tech has also previously said its DroneLight is priced approximately 25% lower than legacy continuous-wave laser systems and that the technology is far more effective.
The Defense Ministry's Directorate of Defense, Research and Development, Mafat, has backed much of that assessment. Several months ago, Esh-Tech was selected as a breakthrough company in the Mafat for Startups program, which means it will receive up to NIS 10 million in support for its product.
Strategic Independence and Export Potential
The article says some Israeli defense analysts have pointed to the country's reliance on US-supplied weapons as a long-term vulnerability, arguing that a domestic industry capable of fielding systems like DroneLight reduces exposure to shifts in Washington's posture. Esh-Tech has been at the forefront of that shift since its founding six years ago. The company, based near Beersheba, employs around 20 people there, but among them are some high-caliber specialists.
Those specialists have developed systems that emit hundreds of coin-sized beams at a target. Once a beam registers a hit, additional beams are directed at the same point, and the combined energy brings the target down. Esh-Tech says it expects to present its first operational system by September. The laser uses pulse technology, allowing it to score a focused hit in a hundredth of a second. With an output of four kilowatts, it can destroy a target at a range of up to one kilometer.
Esh-Tech says its ambitions extend beyond Israel. The laser's low power draw keeps the system compact enough to mount on armored vehicles, and the company says it's already in talks with manufacturers in Israel and abroad, with contracts worth millions from European buyers already in hand, and a lighter, Jeep-mounted version is in development. For now, the company says its focus remains at home, on a system that can substantively meet the threats posed by Hezbollah on Israel's northern border.
Why This Matters:
The funding round reflects the urgency of Israel's drone threat environment, where Hezbollah's use of FPV drones has forced soldiers to improvise defenses while waiting for systematic solutions. The development of domestic counter-drone technology addresses a strategic vulnerability: reliance on foreign suppliers whose political priorities may shift. DroneLight's lower cost and compact design offer Israel the ability to field scalable defenses across multiple fronts, from the Lebanese border to potential urban deployment if Hezbollah extends drone range into Israeli cities. The system's export potential to European buyers also signals growing international recognition that non-state actors armed by Iran pose threats beyond the Middle East. For Israel, technological innovation in defensive systems isn't just commercial opportunity — it's existential necessity in a region where adversaries constantly adapt their methods of attack.