Donut Defence brings the world’s most powerful electric motor and other unique EV technologies available to the defense industry

Donut Defence develops and manufactures electric mobility and vehicle technologies for the defence industry, offering disruptive solutions that revolutionize vehicle performance on land, sea and air. Donut Defence also makes the manufacturing of electric vehicles significantly faster and more cost-effective. The company aims to accelerate the transformation of the defence industry toward a more sustainable and advanced future by developing efficient electric mobility solutions to replace the predominantly fossil-fuel-powered vehicles currently in use.

Donut Defence's operations are built on the basis of a modular electric vehicle technology platform and component library developed by its sister company, Donut Lab, for commercial applications. Donut Defence is responsible for commercializing and refining this technology for its use in the defense industry. With Donut Defence's support, defense industry players can leverage the seamlessly compatible technologies and components of the Donut platform, including the uniquely innovative Donut Motor, which has already sparked tremendous interest among vehicle manufacturers worldwide. Donut Defence also focuses on supply chain efficiency and reliability to ensure product quality and smooth deliveries. The technology, together with all the platform components, has been developed and manufactured in Europe.

Michael Waksman, an experienced defense and security tech business leader, will start in the position of CEO at Donut Defence.

“Taking on the role of CEO at Donut Defence was a natural decision because the company is precisely what the international defense industry needs right now. After years of experience in the defense sector and witnessing ongoing discussions about transformation, I see a clear and growing demand for innovative technologies like ours. This is an incredibly exciting opportunity. With the strength of our courageous team and the support of our current and future customers, I’m confident we can drive real change and revolutionize the defense industry”, Waksman says.

Waksman has previously served as CEO of the cybersecurity company Jetico and has over 20 years of experience in communications, technology, and executive roles. He has also held various trusted positions within the industry, such as Vice Chairman of the Cyber Group in the Association of Finnish Defence and Aerospace Industries (PIA), where he supported the Finnish defense sector in the development of international collaboration. Waksman, a dual citizen of the United States and Finland, has worked to advance cooperation between the two countries for more than a decade.

More performance and payload capacity with less costs, resources, and materials

Initially, Donut Defence will focus on various vehicle types, including remote-controlled and autonomous products, such as drones and self-driving robots. In the future, the company plans to expand its activities to meet other defense industry needs, too, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence and smart systems. The benefits enabled by the platform and components are exceptional, regardless of the vehicle type, since customers can save up to 90% on the product development costs of electric vehicles.

"We offer defense sector operators simpler, more affordable, and more sustainable solutions without compromising on efficiency or quality. Our solutions enable customers to significantly shorten their development cycles, thus allowing new vehicles to be brought to the field faster. We’re challenging the status quo in the defense sector, and I believe the entire industry recognizes that the time for game-changing solutions like ours is now ", Waksman continues.

One of the platform’s key components is the donut motor, which enables higher performance and torque density than other electric motors across all vehicle categories. Additionally, the motor, which is integrated directly into the wheel, eliminates the need for a drivetrain, making vehicles simpler, lighter, and more affordable to produce. Performance increases the payload capacity of vehicles, which is a critical feature for defense-oriented vehicles. Other important components of the platform include battery modules, computer processing units, and vehicle control software, all of which will be available to customers by 2025.

Australian company, Hyper Q Aerospace, is one of Donut Defence’s first customers. Hyper Q Aerospace is utilizing the donut motor in its electric aircraft. Peter Batten, the CEO of Hyper Q Aerospace, has had a lifelong career in aviation covering over 40 years as a military pilot, commercial pilot, and in uncrewed systems development.

“Our goal is to develop one of the fastest electric helicopters in the world, and to achieve that, we need next-generation technological solutions. We have been searching for a suitable motor over the past five years, exploring several different options, but none met our needs. Finally, and fortunately, we discovered the solutions developed by Donut Lab, which have enabled and even accelerated the design work for our entirely new type of helicopter”, Batten notes.