Elad Amar returned home from New York after October 7 2023 and after a spell in the IDF reserves where he serves as a captain, as a result of his combat experience, founded Pyrrhus Aeronautics. The US-based startup has developed a joystick-free drone control system that lets combat soldiers operate drones without breaking weapon readiness. The startup, being revealed for the first time by “Globes” is currently raising $5 million.
Amar has developed the system that can be mounted on a rifle and can control drones without the need to take their hands from the gun. Amar serves as the CEO of Pyrrhus alongside CTO Dr. Leandro Gryngarten, an aeronautical engineer from Georgia Tech. Amar has been able to try out the system in Gaza and Lebanon during various tours of duty in the IDF reserves.
A contract with Singapore
Just one year after founding the company in Georgia, the company’s flagship patent-protected product Laser Aiming Drone Remote System (LADRS) has already been used in special Israeli army units and in the US Special Operations Command, in the US Army and the Marines. Pyrrhus has also won contracts from clients outside the US and Israel, including in Singapore, and has been selected for the Astra accelerator of the Starburst venture capital fund and the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), as one of seven startups (out of more than 100 that applied).
Starburst Israel managing director Noemie Alliel says that they have seen dozens of startups in the drone field, but very few have rethought how the combat soldier is able to operate them under pressure. The LADRS system, she says, “Takes any combat soldier, with any weapon, and turns him into a potential drone operator in minutes, with almost no training. Elad lived the problem in combat and built the solution, and IAI confirmed that this was a genuine need.”
The Astra accelerator not only helps with product focus and development; The startups in the Starburst accelerator also enter into an official collaboration with IAI.
LADRS turns a rifle into a drone remote control, from which it is also possible to assign missions and carry them out using the weapon’s aiming, laser guidance and button presses. The system’s purpose is that after training that lasts only about an hour, a fighter will be able to carry out short-range tactical missions, including clearing buildings, scanning the area and patrolling before the maneuvering force enters.
“Instead of using a joystick, you can use the rifle and natural movement on the battlefield for very complex missions,” explains the company’s advisor, Lieutenant General (retired) Eric Wesley, who during his long service served, as the director of the Afghanistan and Pakistan region at the US National Security Council, and as the deputy commander of the US Army’s “Future Force” Command, which is responsible for innovation.
He says, “The system allows me to keep the fighters with their finger on the trigger, instead of on the joystick.”
“Forcing them to hold the weapon”
In order not to burden the combat soldier, the system weighs about 250 grams, including batteries. Due to the Trump administration’s policy of focusing on US-made drones, LADRS compatibility is mainly for US companies, but Pyrrhus aims for full compatibility with any drone as early as next year.
Amar says, “I had an idea when I was on the battlefield. We need to change the way we operate drones, because it puts our troops at risk.”
According to him, the fundamental contradiction that exists on the battlefield is that on the one hand, fighters are trained not to take their hands off their weapons, and on the other hand, drones force them to do so. “Now, we force fighters to hold onto weapons, just to use the additional technology we have.”
He explains that Pyrrhus is also developing a second product, in collaboration with an international defense giant, details of which are still classified.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on July 9, 2026.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2026.
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