In a one-on-one interview with Anna Ahronheim, Defense and Tech correspondent for the Jerusalem Post at the paper’s conference in New York, Bentzion Levinson spoke about what sparked his interest in drones and shared his vision for the future of drone technology.
Levinson, whose company, Heven AeroTech, has developed hydrogen-powered drone fuel cells, said his interest in the field was piqued by his work on drones equipped with thermal cameras that were used to detect and respond to wildfire and security incidents in southern Israel in 2018.
“The more I dove deeper into drones, the more I realized that this would be a key part of the future, and would change our lives in many industries. Most of the drone market focuses on small flying cameras and sensors that can detect things like fires. I realized that if a drone could become a flying robot and carry out a mission, it could totally change its use case.”
While attracting investors to the drone industry was an uphill battle in the company’s early years, he said, interest in the sector has since surged, noting that Heven recently completed a successful Series B financing round, positioning the company to continue expanding its technology and operations. Levinson explained that drone technology is easier to master than developing jet fighters. As a result, “nations that were behind or didn't have the resources or the access to technology started building drones as a way to get ahead. Simplicity is definitely a key part of it.”
Heven AeroTech is a US-based aerospace and defense technology company with operations in both the United States and Israel. “A key part of our strategy is bringing together world-class talent, engineering expertise, and operational experience from across our global team to build the leading Western unmanned systems company,” said Levinson, “We have to be the best at this. We have the opportunity to lead in this space by continuing to innovate and deliver meaningful capabilities to customers operating in increasingly complex environments.”
This article was written in cooperation with Heven AeroTech.