"Electromagnetic Supremacy Is Critical to Defeating the Enemy in the Battlefield"

This happened during the threats of drone and missile fire from Iran over the past year. Israeli citizens began to experience severe disruptions in various GPS applications and were sometimes surprised to discover that the application was locating them in none other than the city of Beirut, Lebanon. These disruptions, which made it difficult for the Iranians and their proxies to attack Israel, brought to the surface one of the most fascinating battlefields active here in recent years — the struggle over signals and communications, the so-called electromagnetic battlefield.

In fact, this war has become more and more visible over the years, and we have all been exposed with the attempts to disrupt "Kipat Barzel" and, over the past year, with the threat of drones and UAVs from Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen. One of the methods to intercept these threats is to detect and disrupt the electromagnetic signals that affect these tools' operation.

At the forefront of this evolving and dynamic battlefield is a new Israeli startup: Signal Edge, which was founded in 2024 by several 8200 veterans with extensive security and civil experience in developing systems and sensors for the electromagnetic medium. The company's CEO and one of its founders is Udi Raviv, 43, a former lieutenant colonel who retired from the IDF after serving for over 20 years in the 8200 unit in a variety of engineering roles in the fields of RF, signal processing, communications and algorithms.

Udi, a Technion graduate in electrical engineering and physics, as part of the academic reserve track, managed in his last position the R&D of the SIGINT Center in Unit 8200. The center is responsible for receiving and processing all intelligence signals transmitted through the electromagnetic medium. The role included managing research and development projects that integrated dozens of engineers and developers, alongside leading large projects in collaboration with the country's leading defense industries (such as Rafael, Elta, and Elisra). Udi also was awarded two Israel Defense Awards during his service, and he founded the company with another founder that has an extensive experience in entrepreneurship and defense, about whom it is not possible to provide details at this stage.

Enable rapid victory over the hiding enemy
"The revolution of drones, micro-UAVs and autonomous robotics on the modern battlefield enables the widespread distribution of small, low-power sensors near the target for a variety of operational and intelligence purposes," says Udi. "There is a deep understanding that the electromagnetic medium is a dominant combat medium in the battlefield— from command and control systems, through UAV communications, GPS jammers, satellite communication systems to radars and anti-aircraft systems. Thus, it is necessary to achieve intelligence and operational superiority in this medium in order to enable rapid defeat of an enemy hiding in a dense urban environment. There are a number of doctrines that have been developed in the US, NATO and also in the IDF and have been implemented in recent years — including organizational changes in the various forces and the assimilation of new combat concepts by commanders and fighters.

"Signal Edge has identified a significant market gap and is developing high-end sensors in the electromagnetic medium, which combine SIGINT, radar and electronic warfare capabilities. The sensors' weight, size and power allow their installation on a wide range of small platforms such as drones, micro-UAVs, loitering weapons, unmanned vessels and more. It takes advantage of the semiconductor industry's development and the miniaturization in the civil sector, thus using the most advanced technologies", says Udi.

He adds: "Signal Edge is developing several significant product lines that enable us to control the electromagnetic dimension. From intelligence sensors (COMINT, ELINT and radar) that accompany the forces and send the information collected to the IDF's centralized control systems or to the maneuvering force directly, to radar seekers or beam-guided munitions installed on loitering weapons and interceptor drones and direct them to the target."

What is your vision?
"Our ambition is to control the electromagnetic domain in the future battlefield in both data collection and attack aspects, to be a significant component in the unmanned platform revolution and to disrupt a traditional market that is currently largely characterized by long development periods and high costs. We strive to provide quality products at a faster pace and lower costs — while adopting innovative technologies found in the civil market, and above all to excel in innovation and creativity that will solve many operational problems in the shortest possible time and make a direct contribution to Israel's security. In addition, we want to be a magnet for those outstanding engineers and developers who leave the defense community every year and are looking for a combination of a high-tech atmosphere and challenges alongside important and interesting security mission."

Signal Edge was founded in the middle of 2024 and, after a quick round of fundraising from private angels and the Innovation Authority, began recruiting employees and developing its first product — a miniaturized system combining SIGINT and radar for small platforms, which is expected to be ready in the first quarter of 2025. As of today, the company is in advanced negotiations with several security organizations. Over the past few months, several high-profile investors have chosen to invest in the company, each of whom is a successful entrepreneur on his own right, including Eyal Dagan and Ofer Eini (founders of Dune Networks and Leaba Semiconductor), Dan Harash (founder of Provigent, Quantum Source, etc.), Ran Oz (founder of BigBand, Optibase, etc.), Nachman Benchaya (one of the first investors in NextVision, who also joined the Signal Edge's board of directors), and more. Udi explains that the experience, advice, and connections of these entrepreneurs contribute significantly to the company's growth.

Udi says that Signal Edge's team is "a winning technological human capital, a group of veterans of Unit 8200 and the defense community, all with rich experience in the worlds of developing systems in the electromagnetic medium. This is a strong team, which knows how to dare and see what many people cannot imagine. The team consists of domain experts in diverse technological disciplines and it gives the company development capabilities and full vertical integration for sensors in the electromagnetic medium. This is a significant advantage in terms of a flexible and rapid response to operational requirements."

How would you summarize the news that the company brings to the market?
"At the end of the day, we are used to talk about air and intelligence superiority, but recently there is a strong understanding that electromagnetic superiority is also required to achieve combat objectives. This superiority is required for both defensive missions (such as preventing communication and navigation jamming or intercepting drones and UAVs) and offensive missions (such as jamming enemy radars, accurately locating anti-aircraft systems or exposing and destroying an enemy hiding in an urban environment). A new dimension of combat is constantly evolving, and Signal Edge aims to stand at the forefront and provide a variety of new operational capabilities in short periods. With our rich security experience, cutting edge technologies and diverse capabilities, we are definitely on the right way".

Signal Edge
Year of establishment: 2024.
Field of activity: Development of miniaturized systems and sensors in the electromagnetic medium for the defense-tech market.
Leading motto: "With a winning and experienced team, you can dare, think big and create a game-changing reality".

In collaboration with Signal Edge