FILE: Foundation’s Phantom MK-1 humanoid robot, photographed February 12, 2025. This image does not show an Israel or Gaza deployment. Photo: Waves1234 / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (cropped and resized).
Foundation Future Industries, a U.S. robotics startup backed by Eric Trump, is in preliminary talks about supplying up to 1,000 humanoid robots to the Israeli military for work in Hamas tunnels beneath Gaza, according to a Financial Times report citing the company’s co-founder and president, Mike LeBlanc.
No deal has been confirmed. The discussions are not an announced purchase order, and the figure of up to 1,000 robots should not be read as a commitment by Israel to buy that number.
LeBlanc described possible tasks including detecting tripwires and neutralizing booby traps. The reported discussions also include the prospect of combat-related uses in the future, rather than confirmation that the machines are now fighting in Gaza.
Company account, not Israeli confirmation
LeBlanc said he met senior Israeli military officials in September for preliminary discussions and visited tunnels with the company’s Phantom MK1 robot. Those details are his account of the talks, not an independently confirmed Israeli announcement.
The Israeli military referred a request for comment to Israel’s Defense Ministry, which declined to comment, according to the report. There is no confirmed contract, delivery schedule or agreed operational role in the published account.
The distinction matters because proposed military tasks, demonstrations and purchases are different stages. A robot being considered for dangerous underground work does not establish that it has passed an operational assessment or been approved for combat.
Eric Trump’s role
Eric Trump, a son of U.S. President Donald Trump, is an investor in Foundation and its chief strategic adviser. His financial and advisory relationship with the company is separate from whether Israel agrees to purchase any robots.
A spokesperson for Eric Trump said he had no involvement in the company’s management, operations, strategic decisions or government-contract negotiations. The spokesperson said contracting decisions were made independently by Foundation’s management. LeBlanc also said Trump’s involvement had not played a part in obtaining contracts.
What Foundation publicly describes
On its official Phantom product page, Foundation describes the machine as a humanoid robot designed for work in human environments. The company lists its height as 1.8 meters and its weight as 80 kilograms.
Those manufacturer specifications describe the platform. They do not independently demonstrate its ability to detect explosives, disarm traps or operate reliably in a tunnel under battlefield conditions. The proposed missions remain claims about what the robots could be used for, not proof of completed deployments.
For now, the reported development is the preliminary discussion itself. Whether it produces a contract, how many machines might be ordered and what limits would govern their use remain unresolved.
JBizNews Desk | Israel and Defense
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