Cyberhawk, a prominent global leader in drone-based industrial inspection and surveying and a subsidiary of Ondas Inc. (NASDAQ: ONDS), has successfully secured a major new multi-year agreement to provide advanced drone inspection and surveying services across SSE’s extensive electricity networks in Britain.
The newly finalized contract spans an initial three-year term, with an additional option for a further two-year extension. This landmark agreement reinforces a commercial relationship between Cyberhawk and SSE that has already endured for more than a decade. The scope of the partnership encompasses SSE’s core regulated network businesses, specifically SSEN Transmission and SSEN Distribution. Together, these entities manage thousands of kilometers of vital electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure across mainland Britain, powering communities, supporting regional economies, and facilitating the broader transition toward a cleaner energy future.
Under the terms of the agreement, Cyberhawk will deploy its specialized drone inspection and surveying services to assess the health, integrity, and operational readiness of these vast networks. According to industry experts and the companies involved, the integration of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into traditional utility operations dramatically improves inspection safety, operational efficiency, and data quality. By utilizing drones, network operators can significantly reduce the necessity for human workers to scale precarious towers, traverse difficult terrain, or access high-risk, high-voltage infrastructure.
This latest contract represents the third major long-term agreement established between Cyberhawk and SSE, successfully following two previous five-year framework agreements. Such continuity in a high-stakes, regulated utility environment underscores the sustained value and operational reliability that Cyberhawk consistently delivers to its enterprise clients.
Chris Fleming, Chief Executive Officer at Cyberhawk, expressed deep satisfaction regarding the continued collaboration. "We are extremely pleased to have secured this new agreement with SSE and to continue a relationship that has now spanned more than ten years," Fleming said. "The fact that SSE has awarded Cyberhawk a third major long-term agreement, following two previous five-year agreements, is a strong testament to the value and trust we have built together over a decade of close cooperation."
Expanding Drone Inspections to Offshore Wind
Beyond the traditional transmission and distribution networks, the new agreement significantly broadens the scope of Cyberhawk’s work into SSE’s rapidly growing offshore renewable energy assets. In a strategic expansion of their partnership, Cyberhawk was awarded Lot 2 for offshore wind turbine inspection. This milestone effectively adds complex offshore wind assets to the company’s ongoing portfolio of work across onshore electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure.
This expansion reflects a broader, industry-wide imperative. Modern energy companies are facing a rapidly growing need to inspect massive numbers of critical assets dispersed across wide, remote, and inherently difficult-to-access marine and terrestrial environments. As the global energy transition accelerates, the sheer scale of infrastructure that requires regular, meticulous monitoring presents unique logistical challenges. Drones have emerged as an indispensable tool to meet these challenges head-on, offering rapid deployment, high-resolution imaging, and repeatable data capture that manual inspection methods simply cannot match.
Reflecting on the evolving scope of the partnership, Fleming highlighted the progressive nature of SSE’s operational strategy. "SSE’s electricity networks business has consistently been one of the UK’s most progressive energy companies when it comes to adopting innovation," Fleming noted. "We have seen that commitment first-hand through the deployment of drone technology across its networks and, increasingly, through the use of iHawk to turn inspection data into actionable asset intelligence."
Fleming further emphasized that the addition of offshore wind inspection highlights the breadth and versatility of the partnership. "The addition of offshore wind inspection further demonstrates the breadth of our partnership with SSE. We are proud to continue supporting the safety, resilience, and efficiency of its critical energy infrastructure," he added.
From Drone Inspection to Asset Intelligence
The partnership between Cyberhawk and SSE extends far beyond the physical collection of aerial imagery. In tandem with the inspection services agreement, Cyberhawk recently renewed a separate multi-year contract to provide its proprietary iHawk software platform as a service.
The iHawk platform is an advanced, asset-focused digital system designed to transform raw field data into practical, usable intelligence. The software seamlessly combines high-resolution inspection imagery, precise geospatial information, and artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted analytics within a unified digital environment. For modern utilities managing complex and aging asset portfolios, tools like iHawk are invaluable. Network operators can leverage the platform to systematically organize vast archives of inspection records, quickly identify emerging structural concerns, and accurately prioritize maintenance operations based on real-time risk assessments.
The convergence of aerial drone inspections and sophisticated asset management software reflects a fundamental paradigm shift in modern infrastructure operations. In this modernized operational model, drones act as the eyes in the sky, collecting comprehensive and precise data from the field, while advanced enterprise software empowers operators to interpret that information effectively. This synergy allows utility companies to manage individual assets with pinpoint accuracy and plan long-term maintenance cycles proactively rather than reactively.
By integrating these technologies, drone inspections cease to be isolated, stand-alone data collection projects. Instead, they become an integral, continuous component of an ongoing, data-driven asset management workflow. This holistic approach helps maximize the operational lifespan of critical infrastructure while minimizing unexpected downtime and costly emergency repairs.
The timing of these agreements aligns with massive capital expenditure plans within the UK energy sector. SSE has announced significant financial commitments, planning to invest approximately £33 billion—which equates to roughly $43.75 billion—in essential energy infrastructure by the year 2030. This monumental level of investment is designed to modernize the grid, expand renewable energy generation capacity, and support the United Kingdom’s ambitious decarbonization targets.
The new and renewed agreements solidify Cyberhawk’s long-term strategic role across multiple pillars of SSE’s operations, encompassing transmission networks, distribution grids, offshore wind installations, and centralized inspection data management. Following more than ten years of collaborative work, the enduring partnership between Cyberhawk and SSE serves as a compelling case study of how mature utility drone programs can successfully evolve from simple aerial data collection initiatives into fully integrated, software-driven infrastructure management ecosystems.
