The defense company promised $16 million this year: it's not even close
The drone company controlled by Ronen Elad published weak semi-annual reports and announced its third CEO in a year. The stock has soared by hundreds of percent since the start of the year on the back of big names like Yossi Cohen, but the gap between ambitious forecasts and actual performance is only growing.
Aerodrome Group, a drone company that has undergone an unusual series of upheavals over the past two years and is currently under the control of businessman Ronen Elad, published its first-half 2026 reports, repeating a pattern unfortunately already familiar on the stock exchange: a deep gap between an impressive forecast and performance on the ground.
The company, which previously projected revenue of $16 million for all of 2026, recorded revenue of only about 3 million shekels in the first half — an annual rate of about 6 million shekels, or roughly $2 million. This is a fraction of the stated target and a decrease of about 51% compared to the same period last year.
At the same time, the company reported another management change: Ziv Ben Baruch, who served as acting CEO for only about three months, is ending his tenure, and Yitzhak Bilt will be appointed in his place on September 15. The stock, which has soared about 336% since the beginning of the year to a value of about 190 million shekels, tells one story, while the reports tell another.
Ambitions vs. Reality
The target set by Aerodrome was not modest: $16 million in revenue in 2026 (about 58 million shekels), almost four times its revenue in 2024. The bulk of the amount, $12 million, was attributed to drone sales, and another $4 million to "marketing knowledge and establishing production lines in developing countries" — a vague definition that has proven difficult to translate into actual revenue.
The first half illustrates how optimistic the company was at best and detached from reality at worst. Not only is the annual revenue rate only about 6 million shekels, but revenues have actually decreased compared to last year. This is exactly the pattern seen with other companies: impressive forecasts that seem detached from reality the moment they are published, only to be met by the harshness of actual results.
A History of Turmoil and "Big Names"
To understand where Aerodrome is heading, one must look at where it came from. The company entered the stock exchange in June 2020 via a reverse merger. With the outbreak of the Iron Swords War in 2023, it tried to ride the wave of defense demand, winning a 137 million shekel Ministry of Defense tender in October 2024. However, it lacked the production infrastructure to meet the order. A failed attempt to acquire an American company for $32 million, followed by a two-week delay in disclosing the order's cancellation, led to a collapse of trust and a 90% drop in stock value.
In April 2025, the Securities Authority published a sharp audit report, noting that CEO and founder Roi Dagani ignored the board and operated without an approved budget. In December 2025, this escalated into a criminal investigation regarding securities law violations.
In early 2026, Ronen Elad injected 37.8 million shekels, becoming the controlling shareholder. Alongside him entered AgEagle, IBI, Barak Rosen, Assi Tuchmaier, and former Mossad head Yossi Cohen. The involvement of these names triggered a surge, pushing the company's value to nearly 900 million shekels before a sharp crash.
Financial Health and New Leadership
As of the end of June, Aerodrome had about 44.6 million shekels in cash, with equity rising to 52.5 million shekels. However, the net loss for the half-year stood at 7.6 million shekels, and the accumulated loss climbed to 87 million. The company burned 8.7 million shekels in cash from operations — more than double the amount in the corresponding period last year.
Now, hopes are pinned on Yitzhak Bilt, who takes over as CEO on September 15. Unlike his predecessors with defense backgrounds, Bilt is an industrial engineer with experience in technology companies, suggesting a potential shift toward operational discipline.
Investors should remain cautious. When a stock surges by hundreds of percent without corresponding business performance, and well-known names appear in exchange reports, it is a sign for vigilance rather than enthusiasm. Aerodrome's path to becoming a real player in the drone market remains long, and the gap between potential and realization remains critical.
