New York — March 18, 2026, 09:14 EDT.
Ondas Inc. hovered near its steep Tuesday close in early hours Wednesday, following the company’s acquisition of INDO Earth Moving Ltd.—a move linked to a $140 million military contract. ONDS last traded at $11.29 as of 9:03 a.m. EDT, ticking up just 0.09% from its previous $11.28 finish, after a 7.12% surge the day before.
The deal marks a shift for Ondas, moving the company out of its usual drones and counter-drone equipment and into the realm of heavy-duty military engineering vehicles. According to Ondas, INDO secured the program as prime contractor — meaning it’s the lead on the project — to deliver dozens of tracked engineering platforms over a two-year period, plus a minimum of four more years providing support. Revenue from this contract is expected to start coming in by the second quarter, Ondas said. That comes on top of the company’s March guidance, which already projected $170 million to $180 million in 2026 revenue, without factoring in any fresh acquisitions.
According to a filing, Ondas shelled out $5.66 million in cash and handed over 5.49 million shares to acquire INDO. There’s also the potential for another $140 million in stock, tied to milestone-based earn-outs spread across three years. The document notes Ondas holds the right to call off the deal entirely before the initial milestone, should INDO come up short on the tender’s requirements.
Chief Executive Eric Brock called INDO’s arrival “an important $140 million tender with a major defense customer,” pointing to “immediate revenue production.” Over at Ondas Autonomous Systems, co-chief executive Oshri Lugassy said the combined company may convert engineered vehicles into robotic platforms, tackling dangerous work that puts crews in harm’s way.
It was a busy session on Tuesday. Ondas shares swung between $10.37 and $11.47, with more than 108.5 million shares traded—a sign of just how strong the reaction was, market data show.
Just a day after wrapping up its $6.66 million cash and 3.33 million share buyout of UK-based Rotron Aerospace, Ondas scooped up INDO. The company also snapped up the last 30% stake in its Israeli arm, 4M Defense, paying out 352,968 shares and tacking on possible stock-based milestone payouts. Ondas has been piecing together a wider defense and robotics lineup quickly.
Ondas struck a $175 million all-stock deal to acquire Mistral, a U.S. defense contractor, earlier this month. Last week, management pegged preliminary fourth-quarter revenue at somewhere between $29.1 million and $30.1 million. The company stuck to its 2026 revenue guidance of $170 million to $180 million, which doesn’t account for acquisitions announced this year. Final results land March 25.
Stifel said last week, following Ondas’s revenue pre-announcement and the Mistral update, that merging the two would likely double the company’s 2026 revenue base and push EBITDA into positive territory earlier than expected. EBITDA, a rough gauge of operating performance, excludes interest, taxes, and certain accounting charges.
Ondas isn’t the only player reaching for scale through acquisitions. On Monday, AeroVironment announced plans to acquire ESAero, an aerospace engineering outfit, in a deal worth roughly $200 million. The move highlights how drone and defense companies are scrambling to snag more design, manufacturing, and strike tech, with military budgets and demand for unmanned systems on the rise.
But the risks stand out. Ondas is only calling the INDO award buyer a “major military customer”—no names yet. Most of the deal’s value is in stock, and if those milestones kick in, the share count goes higher. There’s also a clause in the filing: if INDO misses the first milestone, the deal could get reversed, despite daily volume caps on share sales for the sellers.
