Israeli drone company opens new U.S. headquarters in Tampa

Drone company sets up home base in Tampa

FOX 13's Ariel Plasencia explains why an Israeli drone company has set up its headquarters in Tampa.

TAMPA - An Israeli drone company has opened its new U.S. headquarters and production facility in Tampa. 

"We are looking to bring everything to the U.S., to Tampa, and from here, grow the entire robotic and drone industry across the United States," Aviv Shapira, XTEND CEO and co-founder, said. 

The backstory:

The founders of XTEND, an Israeli drone company, joined Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, city leaders, and lawmakers on Tuesday to mark the opening of their new U.S. headquarters and production facility.  

"We have a number of Israeli businesses that have either expanded here into the Tampa Bay region, or they have moved their entire operation," Castor said. "And so that relationship is wonderful."

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Inside the new facility near I-4 and I-75, drones and robots – which Shapira called "the new front line instead of soldiers" -- will be built for use by the U.S. military and law enforcement. 

"We are now able to manufacture about 3,000 drones a month, and we're looking to grow," Shapira added. "That's just the beginning."

Dig deeper:

Some of these drones have ammunition capabilities. Others can be flown into dangerous situations before humans to gather information. Artificial intelligence (AI) makes it all possible. 

"We need another brain to think alongside with the human -- this is AI -- to navigate, to expand the human capabilities, to empower the human," Rubi Liani, XTEND chief technology officer and co-founder, said. "And this is what we're doing with the drones, giving it more power."

 XTEND’S technology has already been tested and deployed by both the Israel Defense Forces and the U.S. Department of Defense. 

 "Our drones are being used right now in five different conflicts around the world. Two in Israel -- north and south. And Ukraine," Shapira said. 

 The company’s leaders said sharing a home city with the U.S. Special Operations Command – or SOCOM at MacDill Air Force Base – made complete sense. 

"SOCOM has been our first and biggest customer since the day that the company started," Shapira said.