Military hydrogen-cell drones poised for big takeoff
A new partnership presents a moment for scaling up new, longer-range hydrogen-cell drones for warfare.
Patrick Tucker | March 19, 2025 03:35 AM ET
Technology Industry Drones
As drones continue to reshape the nature of warfare, the limitations on range and power are becoming the difference between success and defeat on the battlefield. Now, an Israel-based drone company and U.S. manufacturing company Mach Industries are working together to co-produce hydrogen fuel cell powered drones, which offer big advantages in range but have previously faced challenges that have kept them from the battlefield.
The companies hope to produce 1,000 drones each month, with an eventual goal of up to 1,000 a day, HevenDrones CEO Benzion Levinson told Defense One. The longer-range goal will depend on the demand for the company’s H2D250 drones, which are capable of carrying 10 pounds, and its other offerings.
There’s also potential to increase the drones’ size in the future. “Once you have the scale blueprint and include a lot of automations, it really then becomes a function of how big you want to go and how fast you want to scale,” Levinson said.
Hydrogen fuel cell powered drone experimentation goes back decades in the United States, beginning with NASA’s 1994 Helios prototype. The Office of Naval Research has also invested in related research and experimentation.
https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2025/03/military-hydrogen-cell-drones-poised-big-takeoff/403873/?oref=d1-featured-river-secondary
