Dear Shareholder,  

The recent surge in global military expenditure reaching an all-time high of $2.44 trillion in 2024 underscores a powerful trend that strongly favors companies like Elsight. With defence budgets climbing across key markets such as the U.S., India, Europe, and Japan, there is a growing demand for advanced, secure, and reliable communication technologies.

Elsight’s innovative Halo platform, known for its uninterrupted connectivity, is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this wave of military modernization and digital transformation. As nations increasingly invest in unmanned systems, situational awareness, and tactical communications, Elsight stands poised for substantial growth in defense-related contracts and strategic partnerships. Below you can find a few articles supporting this trend. 

While we are witnessing rapid growth in the defence sector, Elsight remains committed to expanding its presence in the commercial market, which scales alongside the growth of our existing customers and the acquisition of new ones. You can read about one fascinating example below as our Halo enables to improve safety and efficiency by the UK's National Rail supported by our customer DroneCloud.

Wrapping up, there's an article on local ASX buzz following our impressive Q1 results and an announcement of our expanding local public relations efforts in Japan. 

Enjoy this issue. 

Best regards,

IR Team 
Elsight (ASX:ELS) 

India raises defense budget by nearly 10%, pushes local manufacturing

India’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced a 9.53% rise in its 2025-2026 defense budget as the country grapples with multiple security challenges, headlined by Pakistan on its western border and tensions with China to the north.

India’s MoD is set to receive a record 6.81 trillion rupees, equating to US$78.3 billion. However, only 1.8 trillion rupees – or 26.4% of the budget – will be allocated to new acquisitions. That is because pensions account for 23.6% of the budget, while the armed forces receive 45.8% and 4.2% goes to other defense organizations.

$150 Billion Defense Reconciliation Bill Signals Major Boost for Uncrewed Systems and Drones

According to AUVSI's (Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International) president, Michael Robbins, the reconciliation bill includes “major wins for the uncrewed, autonomy, and robotics industry.” In a recent LinkedIn post, Robbins credited sustained engagement by the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International and its member companies for the enhanced funding. The bill allocates substantial resources to a wide range of programs.

Unprecedented rise in global military expenditure as European and Middle East spending surges

World military expenditure reached $2718 billion in 2024, an increase of 9.4 per cent in real terms from 2023 and the steepest year-on-year rise since at least the end of the cold war. Military spending increased in all world regions, with particularly rapid growth in both Europe and the Middle East. The top five military spenders—the United States, China, Russia, Germany and India—accounted for 60 per cent of the global total, with combined spending of $1635 billion, according to new data published today by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

FAA Streamlines Drone Approval Process for First Responders

The USA's FAA  recently announced an update to the regulatory process for Drone as First Responder (DFR) operations that is set to be far more streamlined and attainable. What was previously the COA needed for DFR to fly is now a simplified Certificate of Waiver (COW). The COW process is handled solely through the FAA Flight Standards. 

Scalable Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone operations for Critical National Infrastructure (CNI).

Network Rail and partners Drone Major Limited and Dronecloud have begun trials of “beyond visual line of sight” aerial operations on the railway to test a concept that could bring major improvements for passengers and rail freight customers.

Beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drones have the technology to cover many more miles of track than their Visual Line of Sight equivalents, filling the gap between standard drones and the Network Rail helicopter*. With delays from trespass becoming one of the most significant causes of disruption on the railway – with over 1.5 million minutes since April 2024 – drones offer a game-changing speed of response. Similarly, the potential to survey the railway safely from above means Network Rail’s maintenance colleagues could be directed to potential faults quickly, rather than being forced to walk miles along the railway to find them, exposing them to risk and delaying any fixes. 

Elsight among the ASX tech April Winners! 

Defence tech darlings like WhiteHawk and Elsight grab the spotlight

Elsight is entering a big new phase, locking in a $4.25 million deal with a European defence giant to deliver its technology over four months. CEO Yoav Amitai reckons it will not only give revenue a nice lift but also put Elsight firmly on the radar in the booming defence space. With war tensions driving up defence budgets across Europe and the US, Yoav says Elsight’s drone comms gear is landing in the right place at the right time, giving unmanned systems stronger, smarter control. And even with global tariff noise around, the company said it’s staying steady thanks to a spread-out manufacturing setup. Yoav said this recent deal in Europe is just the beginning. 

Elsight, the world’s Top Drone Comms, Launches in Japan

Elsight Ltd. announces that it will be stepping up its information dissemination in Japan with its JAYID partnership, a Japan-based full stack public relations and marketing agency. . For some time now, Elsight has been expanding sales to various government ministries and local governments in Japan through its general sales agent, Navicom Aviation Co., Ltd. With this increased information dissemination, the company will garner more attention from the Japanese unmanned and robotics commercial and defense sectors.