How Much Will Dadi Barnea Earn at ONDS? Estimate: A Package of $4 Million or More

Dadi Barnea, who finished his tenure as head of the Mossad at the beginning of June, is being appointed chairman of ONDS, an American drone and autonomous systems company with significant development activity in Israel following the acquisition of a series of companies in Israel. The appointment comes just about two months after finishing one of the most sensitive and senior positions in the Israeli security establishment.

For ONDS, the choice is clear. Barnea brings with him intelligence and security experience, deep familiarity with governments and security agencies, and an international network of connections that is hard to price. He may assist the company with armies, intelligence agencies, and government clients, and also grant it status and credibility at a time when it is trying to become a global security group. However, the rapid transition also raises the question of the cooling-off period. Like this, with such speed, is it possible to skip from a daily routine full of secrets, operations, and events to a very senior position in a foreign company? Everything is, of course, legal, but there is something jarring here.

ONDS Operations

ONDS is building activity in the fields of autonomous drones, robotics, intelligence, observation, drone interception, and communication for critical missions. Its Israeli activity includes, among others, Airobotics and Iron Drone, and it is expanding through acquisitions and an attempt to connect several security technologies under one group. Barnea is not coming to manage a factory or develop software. His value lies in the ability to understand the needs of security clients, examine technologies, assist in opening doors, and connect the acquired companies to government markets. Therefore, it is likely that his role will be more active than that of a regular chairman.

Compensation Estimates

Salary is only a small part of the package. The terms of the appointment have not yet been published, but it is not correct to look only at the cash salary. For ONDS executives, the central component of compensation is usually shares and options. Barnea, who is coming as chairman and as one of the most senior and well-known security figures in Israel, may, according to estimates, receive an annual salary of about $300,000–$500,000, alongside a multi-year capital grant. The grant may include restricted shares, options, or a combination of them, and vest gradually depending on the continuation of his tenure.

ONDS is very generous with its executives — the most prominent case is CEO Eric Brock, who received at the beginning of 2026 an allocation of 13.5 million restricted share units, which constituted about 3% of the company. The value of the package at the time of the grant was estimated at more than $100 million. A large part of the shares has already vested, and the remainder is expected to vest by 2029. Brock's current salary in 2025 amounted to only about $426,000. That is, almost all the economic value of the compensation is in the shares, not in the salary.

So how much will Barnea receive? A reasonable minimum estimate is a capital grant of about $3 million, in addition to an annual salary of hundreds of thousands of dollars. A more reasonable estimate is a package of about $4–$5 million in shares and options, which will vest over several years. But there is also a scenario with a high probability that the number will be significantly higher. Barnea is not just another senior manager or director with business experience. From the perspective of a company trying to sell systems to armies and governments, this value may be worth much more than a regular compensation package. We will not be surprised if the package for Barnea will eventually be over $10 million.