Yair Dubester
Israeli aeronautical engineer; former general manager of Israel Aerospace Industries' drone division; chief executive of UVision around 2015 and a director of the company
| Yair Dubester
| |
|---|---|
| Image |  Dubester, from the Association of Engineers, Architects and Graduates in Technological Sciences in Israel |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Occupation | Engineer; defence-industry executive |
| Known for | General manager of the Israel Aerospace Industries drone division; chief executive and director of UVision |
| Education | BSc in electrical engineering, Technion |
Yair Dubester (Hebrew: יאיר דובסטר) is an Israeli engineer and drone-industry executive. He spent about 35 years at Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), including seven years as general manager of its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) division, and was chief executive of the loitering-munitions maker UVision in 2015. He is a director of UVision.[1][2]
Israel Aerospace Industries
A course biography published by the Israeli engineers' association describes Dubester as one of the founders of the UAV industry in Israel and the world. It says that he was general manager of IAI's UAV division for seven years, that over 35 years he held various technical, marketing and management roles, that since 2015 he has been chief executive of start-up companies developing new generations of UAVs and air taxis, and that he has a BSc in electrical engineering from the Technion.[1] Israel National News, citing Israel Defense, called him in 2015 "one of the pioneers of the Israeli UAV industry, who served as the manager of MALAT, IAI's UAV division".[3]
UVision
In May 2015, when UVision unveiled its Hero loitering munitions, Dubester was its chief executive. He said: "In our new incarnation, we decided to focus on loitering attack munitions ... Our view – and we have seen the Americans adopting the same view – is that loitering attack munitions are going to be the next big thing."[3] At the Paris Air Show the following month, as president and chief executive, he announced the appointment of Maj. Gen. (res.) Yair Naveh as chairman.[4] Globes quoted him then as saying that "the next thing is loitering munitions", because current conflicts were asymmetric wars "in urban areas against guerrilla forces" that required precise strike capabilities. He described the smallest model, the Hero-30, as carried on a soldier's back and launched when fire is coming from an unidentified source.[5] UVision said in 2019 that Noam Levitt had led the company since 2015.[6]
In January 2018 Globes described Dubester, "a former IAI employee", as chief executive of the drone company APG Aero Systems, and said that he was "still a director" of UVision.[7] Ctech listed him among UVision's directors in 2026.[2]
| Organisation | Role | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Israel Aerospace Industries | About 35 years; general manager of the UAV division (MALAT) for seven years | [1][3] |
| UVision | Chief executive (and president) in 2015; director | [4][7][2] |
| APG Aero Systems | Chief executive (2018) | [7] |
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Association of Engineers, Architects and Graduates in Technological Sciences in Israel, סדנת מערכות אוטונומיות אוויריות: ממל"ט עד מונית אווירית (Airborne autonomous systems workshop: from UAV to air taxi), aeai.org.il (Hebrew), accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Golan Hazani, UVision weighs foreign investor as IPO stalls Ctech, 13 October 2026, accessed 3 November 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Arutz Sheva, New in IDF: Tactical Kamikaze Drones Israel National News, 28 May 2015, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ Yuval Azulai, הסלון האווירי: להתפוצץ על דאעש - ולהרוויח מזה כסף (The air show: blowing up ISIS – and making money from it), Globes (Hebrew), 15 June 2015, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ UVision Air Ltd, UVision Air Ltd Appoints Major General (Res.) Avi Mizrachi as new CEO Aviation & Defence Universe, 19 April 2019, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Yuval Azulai, Breakthrough drone co APG Aero Systems raises $3m Globes, 21 January 2018, accessed 10 November 2026.