Founded by Ukrainians, Codective received investment from Israel’s IAI — why does Israel need autonomous navigation for drones without GPS

The American company Codective LLC, founded by Ukrainians, has attracted strategic investments from Israel Aerospace Industries — one of Israel’s key defense and aerospace conglomerates. The funds will be directed towards the development and scaling of the IVFOS autonomous navigation platform, which is designed to help unmanned systems operate even where GPS is jammed, distorted, or completely unavailable.

On April 23, 2026, the investment was reported by the Ukrainian specialized publication “Militarnyi”.

For Israel, this is not an abstract technological news. After October 7, the war in Gaza, the constant threat from Hezbollah in the north, and the strengthening of the Iranian drone direction, autonomous navigation has become a matter of current security, not the future.

The Ukrainian trace here is also fundamental. Over the years of full-scale war against Russia, Ukraine has become one of the world’s main testing grounds for the development of unmanned systems, FPV drones, electronic warfare means, and solutions that must survive in conditions of constant communication jamming.

What is known about IAI’s investment in Codective

Codective LLC announced the attraction of strategic investments from Israel Aerospace Industries. The funding will go towards accelerating the development of the flagship IVFOS system — Inertial Visual Flow and Optical System.

IVFOS combines computer vision, inertial navigation, and onboard computing. Practically, this means that the unmanned platform can maintain orientation and movement accuracy without constant reliance on satellite signals.

This becomes critically important in modern warfare.

The enemy jams GPS, substitutes coordinates, attacks communication channels, and tries to “blind” drones even before they complete their task. Therefore, autonomous navigation is no longer an additional option. For drones, robotic platforms, and aviation systems, it is one of the key elements of survival.

What is IVFOS in simple terms

The IVFOS system is needed so that a drone can navigate in a complex environment without satellite navigation. It combines visual navigation, image analysis, inertial data, decision-making algorithms, and onboard computing.

For a reader without a technical background, it can be explained like this: the drone is given “vision,” “movement memory,” and the ability to navigate without the usual GPS map.

This approach is especially important in conditions of active electronic warfare. If the satellite signal is jammed or substituted, the device should not immediately become a useless target. It should continue moving, check its position against the surrounding environment, and retain the ability to complete the task.

Why this technology is important for Israel

Israel Aerospace Industries is not just an investor. It is one of Israel’s largest defense players, working in aviation, missile systems, satellites, drones, radars, and other areas of national security.

Therefore, IAI’s interest in Codective shows: Ukrainian experience in the field of drones is becoming part of a broader Israeli defense logic.

Israel has been living for many years in a reality where threats come not only from armies but also from proxy structures: Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and groups associated with Iran. Against this background, autonomous systems are needed not only for strike tasks but also for reconnaissance, surveillance, border protection, threat interception, and operations in areas where the enemy actively uses electronic warfare.

The Ukrainian school of drones has become a practical resource

During the war against Russia, Ukraine has gone through a pace of technological change that usually takes years in peaceful laboratories. On the front, solutions are tested quickly and harshly: if a system cannot withstand jamming, interference, loss of communication, or difficult weather, it simply does not survive.

What works gets a chance to scale.

That is why the news about Codective is important for Nikk.Agency — Israel News: it shows how Ukrainian engineering experience and Israeli defense industry are gradually converging at one point — in the fight for technological advantage against countries and structures that rely on mass drone attacks, missiles, and proxy warfare.

Here, there are fewer slogans and more practice. Ukrainian teams understand what the modern battlefield looks like with thousands of drones, FPV attacks, constant electronic pressure, and a fast cycle of solution updates. Israel, for its part, has a powerful defense industry, experience in integrating complex systems, and access to global markets.

Codective is exactly at the intersection of these two worlds: Ukrainian team origin, American jurisdiction, Israeli strategic investor, and a product in demand in modern warfare.

What will change with autonomous navigation without GPS

The main problem of modern drones is dependence on signals and communication channels. If the enemy jams GPS or substitutes coordinates, the equipment can lose its route, target, or control.

In the conditions of a large war, this happens constantly.

Autonomous navigation solves this problem partially, but very significantly. A drone can continue moving by visual landmarks, use data from internal sensors, compare images with the surrounding environment, and make decisions onboard. This is especially important for the “last mile,” when the device is already close to the target and any external interference can disrupt the task.

Where the investments will go

Codective plans to direct the attracted funds towards further technology improvement, expansion of the field testing program, strengthening the engineering team, and preparing the platform for integration with aviation systems.

Codective’s founder and CEO Anton Herasymenko called the support of Israel Aerospace Industries an important step for the company. According to him, IAI’s participation confirms the relevance of the technology and accelerates the market entry of next-generation solutions.

For the defense sector, this means not just another startup with a beautiful presentation. It is about technology that addresses a specific combat problem: how to maintain control, accuracy, and autonomy of the platform when the enemy does everything to deprive it of connection with the outside world.

Why this is more important than it seems

The war of the future no longer looks like a separate tank, plane, or missile. It increasingly resembles a network of autonomous and semi-autonomous systems that must quickly see, calculate, choose a route, transmit data, and survive in an environment where communication is constantly attacked.

Therefore, IAI’s investment in Codective may not just be a financial decision, but part of a broader restructuring of the defense market.

Israel is looking for solutions to protect its borders and enhance technological advantage. Ukraine shows which technologies really pass the test of war. The USA remains a key platform for scaling such companies and bringing them to the allies’ market.

In this linkage, Codective looks like an example of new defense geography: Ukrainian engineers, Israeli industry, American company, and global demand for autonomous systems.

For Israel, this is another signal that Ukrainian experience cannot be viewed only through a humanitarian or diplomatic lens. It is already becoming part of technological security — the very security that tomorrow may affect northern Israel, the south of the country, air defense, and the ability to counter Iranian proxies.