As rescue teams continue to search for victims buried under buildings and infrastructure that collapsed in Venezuela’s La Guaira late last month, Mexico’s search and rescue unit is using Israeli technology to access areas still too dangerous for humans to enter.
The death toll in Latin America’s largest natural disaster in decades has risen to over 2,300, and while hopes of finding more survivors diminish, search and rescue teams are not stopping. Dozens of countries have sent personnel to the disaster areas, including Israel despite not having diplomatic relations with Caracas for some 17 years.
Defense and Tech by The Jerusalem Post has learned that several of Xtend’s Honey Badger and its XTENDER unmanned aerial systems (UAS) that work in tandem are critical components to the ongoing efforts by rescue personnel.
D&T understands that the use of the systems is part of a special project after the company was approached by the Venezuelan government to help in the complex environment. Xtend rapidly sent a team to the South American country. Once there, its members were assigned to a search-and-rescue team belonging to Mexico City’s Search and Rescue (Los Topos Tlatelolco).
Local reports said that with the help of the two systems, Los Topos Tlatelolco were able to rescue a man who had been trapped between a roof and collapsed wall, 72 hours after the twin earthquakes of 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude struck the country.
According to the company, which is headquartered in Tel Aviv and Florida, the Honey Badger is a compact multi‑mission drone designed for close‑range operations. The platform is built to operate in dense urban terrain and areas where GPS access is disrupted, a challenge facing search and rescue forces in Venezuela.
The Honey Badger carries modular payloads of up to 3 kilograms and can be deployed within seconds. The system integrates into a three‑drone mesh network, allowing operators to share targeting data and maintain situational awareness in real time. The platform has a flight time of roughly 35 minutes and a range of more than 6 kilometers, and is powered by XTEND’s XOS operating interface, which the company describes as designed to simplify control and shorten training time for frontline personnel.
The XTENDER is a micro tactical ISR platform designed for indoor and subterranean operations where GPS access is limited or unavailable. The system is built to give personnel immediate situational awareness in confined spaces, enabling room‑clearing, mapping, and reconnaissance from a safe distance.
According to XTEND, the platform is impact‑resistant and equipped with floodlights, allowing operators to navigate and gather intelligence in low‑visibility environments. Weighing 1.2 kg., the drone has a flight time of roughly 10 minutes and a range of over 1.6 km. It features encrypted communications, sense‑and‑avoid functions, and multiple launch options, including ground, hand, and air deployment. XTEND says the system is intended to enhance surveillance and reconnaissance for those operating in complex indoor terrain, where traditional unmanned platforms are less effective.
Like the Honey Badger, XTENDER operates as part of a three‑drone mesh team and is powered by the company’s XOS interface.
The two US-manufactured systems are working in tandem – Honey Badger lets the operator work the outdoor and urban area from standoff, while XTENDER goes inside rooms, stairwells, and subterranean spaces, mapping in real time where GPS doesn't reach. The operator commands both. The drones handle navigation and observation; the human keeps mission intent and rules-of-engagement authority throughout.
From video games to warzones and natural disasters
Xtend was founded in 2018 by Aviv and Matteo Shapira, Rubi Liani, and Adir Tubi – originally as a gaming company that uses drone-based extended reality technology along with virtual reality to simulate flight in video games. Following the October 7 massacre carried out by Hamas, the company shifted toward defense applications after the founders understood that the technology could help troops, developing a new Concept of Operations (CONOPS) where their drones enter the battlefield before the soldiers.
The company has since specialized in human-guided autonomous machine systems for defense applications. XTEND delivers next-generation autonomous systems for defense, public safety, and private security applications built on its battle-proven XOS operating system. Its products utilize remote operational capabilities, enabling multiple air, ground, and maritime drones to execute complex, dynamic missions with immediate operational readiness.
With their products, Xtend aims to enable operators to control and interact with their drones and autonomous ground vehicles for various mission types using VR/AR interfaces and AI, including underground or other complex environments.
The company has deployed over 10,000 systems worldwide across more than 30 countries such as the United States, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Israel, and five combat zones.