From Printing Presses to Interceptor Drones: The Industrialization of Defense

In a move that signals a significant shift in the German industrial landscape, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg)—a company synonymous with the high-precision world of professional printing—has entered the defense sector. Through its subsidiary, HD Advanced Technologies (HDAT), the company has established a joint venture with the American-Israeli firm Ondas Autonomous Systems. Named "Onberg Autonomous Systems," the venture officially launched in April 2026 at a production site in Brandenburg an der Havel.

This collaboration is not merely another arms-industry partnership; it is an experiment in applying the extreme mechanical precision of the printing industry to the volatile, high-demand field of drone defense. By shifting from printing millions of pages per hour to producing thousands of interceptor drones per day, Heidelberg aims to revolutionize how defense hardware is manufactured.

The Convergence of Two Worlds: Main Facts

The core mission of Onberg Autonomous Systems is to solve a bottleneck in the current defense market: the reliance on slow, manual, and artisanal assembly methods for drone technology. Michael Wellenzohn, CEO of HDAT, who joined the company in mid-2025 following a two-decade tenure in the automotive sector, argues that his company is uniquely qualified for this pivot.

"A printing machine is the most complex mechatronic system I know," says Wellenzohn. "When you feed paper into a machine that is 40 meters long, the tolerance at the end of that run is just 10 micrometers." By transferring this level of engineering rigor to the production of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and interceptor drones, HDAT plans to transition defense manufacturing from a workshop model to a true industrial, high-volume process.

The partnership leverages Ondas’s existing, field-tested drone technology, such as the "Optimus" system—an automated, self-contained launch-and-landing platform—and the "Iron Drone" interception system. HDAT provides the manufacturing backbone, the software integration, and the proprietary electronics architecture necessary to scale these solutions rapidly.

A Chronology of the Strategic Pivot

The path to Onberg was marked by a series of deliberate strategic decisions:

• 2014: Heidelberg establishes its industrial branch to diversify beyond traditional printing markets.
• Mid-2025: Michael Wellenzohn is appointed CEO of HDAT. His mandate is to identify high-growth fields where Heidelberg’s expertise in mechatronics and high-precision engineering can provide a competitive advantage.
• Early 2026: Internal analysis identifies Aerospace, Robotics, and Energy Systems as the primary targets for the company’s future growth.
• April 2026: The joint venture "Onberg Autonomous Systems" is officially launched in Brandenburg an der Havel, signaling the transition from conceptual planning to operational production.
• Present Day: The facility is actively developing a scalable production infrastructure for interceptor drones and mobile launch platforms.

Precision, Robustness, and Scale: Supporting Data

The skepticism surrounding the entry of a printing company into the defense space is countered by the sheer scale of Heidelberg’s engineering capabilities. A modern printing press is a marvel of integration, featuring approximately 300 electric motors, 2,700 actuators and sensors, and complex hydraulic and pneumatic subsystems.

The Engineering Advantage

Wellenzohn’s approach relies on the concept of "industrializability." Unlike traditional defense contractors that often rely on expensive, labor-intensive composite materials—which require long curing times and complex lamination—Onberg is focusing on modular, repeatable design.

• Manufacturing Capacity: HDAT has demonstrated the ability to design and manufacture a functioning UGV prototype in just four and a half months. The current infrastructure is designed to scale to 100 units per month immediately, with the goal of reaching a capacity of 1,000 interceptor drones per day.
• Global Reliability: Because Heidelberg machines are sold worldwide, they are designed to operate under wildly different electrical conditions. They include custom-built power grids capable of managing voltages ranging from 24V to 800V. This internal expertise in power electronics is now being directly applied to the drone interceptor platforms.
• Cost Efficiency: By moving away from exotic, artisanal materials and toward standardized, automated manufacturing, Onberg aims to significantly undercut the pricing of incumbent defense manufacturers.

Official Perspectives: The Philosophy of "Hardkill"

The leadership at Onberg emphasizes that they are not necessarily "drone pilots." Instead, they are infrastructure providers. The goal is to provide a comprehensive, holistic defense architecture—from the initial detection of a threat to its neutralization.

"We are not the ones who steer the drones automatically," Wellenzohn explains. "But we provide a platform with our own electronics and our own depth of value creation."

The company’s approach to "Kritis" (critical infrastructure) protection is a tiered response:

1. Detection: Sensors identify an incoming threat.
2. Classification: AI evaluates the nature of the object.
3. Warning: Automated systems alert relevant security protocols.
4. Neutralization: Depending on the severity, the system initiates either electronic countermeasures (Softkill) or physical interception (Hardkill), such as nets, lasers, or kinetic impact.

Wellenzohn views the drone box—the container from which an interceptor drone emerges—not as a weapon, but as a "control cabinet." It requires power distribution, thermal management, and robust electromechanical actuators to open and deploy the hardware. This is a language Heidelberg speaks fluently.

Implications for the Defense Sector and Beyond

The entry of Heidelberg into the defense sector carries profound implications for European security and the industrial defense base.

1. Resilience Through Local Supply Chains

The ongoing conflict and geopolitical instability have highlighted the fragility of global supply chains for defense hardware. By maintaining the entire value chain in Germany—from the casting of parts to the final software integration—Onberg provides a degree of sovereignty that is increasingly sought after by the German Bundeswehr and other European security agencies.

2. The Shift to "Industrialized" Warfare

Wellenzohn is candid about the reality of modern defense: "In an emergency, you don’t want to have 600,000 units sitting in a warehouse. You need the ability to produce quickly and flexibly to reach high quantities when the need arises." The ability to scale up production of autonomous systems within months, rather than years, is a paradigm shift.

3. Future-Proofing the Business

While the company is currently focused on security and energy systems, the long-term potential for broader robotics is clear. Although Wellenzohn remains cautious about entering the market for humanoid robots, he notes that the underlying technologies—autonomous navigation, power electronics, and high-speed mechatronics—are transferable.

For the time being, the focus remains on the pragmatic: protecting critical infrastructure with machines that are cheaper, more robust, and faster to manufacture than anything currently on the market. "In an emergency," Wellenzohn says, "it’s better to lose metal and electronics than human lives."

Conclusion

The transformation of the site in Brandenburg into a hub for drone defense is a testament to the versatility of German mechanical engineering. By treating defense systems as high-precision mechatronic products rather than traditional weapons, Heidelberg is redefining the competitive landscape. As the demand for anti-drone technology grows, Onberg’s ability to combine the precision of a printing press with the agility of a tech startup may well set the new standard for European defense manufacturing.