SPRINGFIELD, Ohio, August 19, 2026 – Ondas Inc. (Nasdaq: ONDS) formally opened a new training, testing, and flight operations facility at the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence (NAAMCE) in Springfield, Ohio, on Tuesday, Aug. 18. The site will be operated by Ondas Sentinel, the company’s operating division for autonomous defense technologies. Ondas Sentinel includes the teams and technologies of DZYNE Technologies, acquired by Ondas in July.
The site becomes Ondas Sentinel’s Midwest hub for long-endurance UAS, bringing ground school, simulation, mission planning, and live flight operations together in one location. It also adds to the region’s growing advanced air mobility and aerospace ecosystem.
The ribbon-cutting this week marked the official opening. Matt McCue, Chief Technology Officer, Ondas Sentinel, and Ted Angel, Executive Director, NAAMCE, were joined by federal, state, and local elected officials, military leadership, and regional aerospace industry and economic development partners.
About NAAMCE
The National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence (NAAMCE) is the nation’s only integrated build-test-fly ecosystem for Advanced Air Mobility innovation, located at Springfield-Beckley Airport in Springfield, Ohio. NAAMCE provides AAM developers with unmatched NAS access up to 18,000 feet, BVLOS operational capability without chase planes, aircraft and system validation support, and a coordinated partner network spanning government, academia, OEMs, and research institutions. NAAMCE exists to remove barriers and help innovators accelerate testing, certification, and commercialization at the speed of industry. For more, visit naamce.com.
Key Points
- Ondas has opened a new training, testing, and operations facility at NAAMCE in Springfield-Beckley, Ohio. The site will be operated by Ondas Sentinel.
- The facility brings ground school, simulation, mission planning, and live flight operations into one location and one pipeline, serving as the company’s Midwest hub and operator schoolhouse.
- Operator training and mission operations at the site will support ULTRA, a long-endurance unmanned aircraft, and Stratollite, a stratospheric flight platform.
- The location places the team minutes from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, AFRL, and the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, and adjacent to the 178th Air National Guard.
- ULTRA originated as a rapid AFRL program with early Air Force investment and is moving toward potential production.
- Regional support came from JobsOhio, Clark County, and the Dayton Development Coalition, with a talent pipeline from Sinclair College, Wright State University, and the University of Dayton.
Quotes from yesterday’s remarks, delivered by Matt McCue, Chief Technology Officer, Ondas Sentinel
- “Our presence here at NAAMCE gives us something few others can match: one integrated environment for training, testing, operator development, demonstration, and customer engagement. Ground school, simulation, mission planning, and live flight operations all happen in one place, in one pipeline. That accelerates training, it strengthens operational readiness, and it lets our partners see firsthand what low-cost long-endurance unmanned aircraft deliver.”
- “Springfield is the right place for the missions we support. The conditions here mirror what long-endurance homeland security and defense missions demand.”
- “Being minutes from Wright-Patterson keeps us shoulder to shoulder with AFRL, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, and the Air Force organizations shaping what comes next. These are not arm’s length relationships.”
- “ULTRA is the clearest example of cost-effective innovation. It started as a rapid AFRL program. The Air Force invested early and took the risk on the concept. That investment is why this aircraft exists and is moving forward to potential production. That is a direct return.”
- “This ribbon cutting is not the end of a project, it’s the start of a capability. And we’re just getting started.”
Media Contacts:
NAAMCE: Stephanie Apple, stephanie@oneteamaviation.com, 502-541-4480
ONDAS SENTINEL: Jill Vacek, jvacek@worldview.space, 520-833-3349