“Artificial intelligence is not just an innovation, it is a complete game changer,” Defense Ministry Director-General Eyal Zamir said at the opening of the first International Defense Technology Summit on Tuesday.
“AI is a revolution that will bring new knowledge to all aspects of life, including defense capabilities,” he added. “Those who adapt first will have a huge advantage. If you’re not completely tech-savvy, you’ll be left behind.”
In his speech, Zamir said he had taken the decision to establish a research and development department in the Defense Ministry’s Directorate General of Defense specializing in AI and autonomy.
“While this may sound prescient, future battlefields will see melee force swarms, humans and unmanned systems fighting together, or fully autonomous forces acting together and creating their own They will be able to take decisions,” Zamir added.
“Within the next 10 to 15 years, or sooner, AI robots on land, air, and sea will dominate fully networked battlefields. But make no mistake, in the near future We will continue to strengthen our forces, but we will need to incorporate these new capabilities to make them more efficient and save lives.”
What is the domino effect in the Middle East?
Mr. Zamir also discussed the “massive domino effect” across the Middle East.
“We all saw Syria collapsing within days,” he said. “As a direct result of Israeli military operations, the entire Iranian axis suffered severe damage. When Israeli pilots used American aircraft equipped with Israeli technology to attack Iran’s most advanced defense systems, it It sent a powerful message to the world.”
Referring to the Manufacturing Independence Program led by the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD), Zamir said that when the Israeli-Hamas war broke out, his mission was to “fully operationalize the IDF without weapons restrictions in multiple ongoing military operations.” I had to keep doing it,” he said. Front Campaign”.
Director of DDR&D, Brigadier General Dr. Daniel Gold (retired), spoke about how air and missile defense is changing the world.
“The Arrow 3 was used for the first time against a missile launched from Yemen, more than 1,500 kilometers away,” he said.
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“We are continually improving our air and missile defense systems. During the war alone, we implemented dozens of system improvements. In the current war, David’s Sling and Iron Dome are used for rockets, We successfully intercepted missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and cruise missiles.”
“We’re always looking at ways to intercept drones with other drones or use nets to defeat enemy drones,” Gold added. “During the war, we worked with dozens of startups in this field. We created a methodology for integrating startups into the field, which is something the world is still trying to figure out. ”
Startups are working on developing innovations
According to a spokesperson, approximately 200 startups are working with DDR&D to develop innovative technologies and capabilities, and IMOD has increased its collaboration with an additional 86 Israeli startups and small and medium-sized enterprises. It was reported that
From October 2023 to September 2024, this engagement amounted to approximately Sh601 million, which is five times higher than the same period last year, according to DDR&D data.
The spokesperson said Abi Berger, director of the Ministry of Defense’s Space Directorate, also spoke at the summit and discussed the role of space capabilities in modern warfare.
He said: “The current war is an intensive and aggressive war being fought simultaneously in seven arenas, some of which are about 2,000 kilometers from Israel. Iran’s area is 160 km. 1,000,000 square kilometers, so spatial dimensions are critical to supporting IDF operations.” From the lessons of previous wars, it is clear that we must do everything in our power to use outer space effectively, since thanks to space we can always know what is happening in other arenas. ”
“The satellite will transit from Iran to Israel within minutes, transmitting information in near real time to our C4I array,” Berger added. “We must address the new challenges we now face. We must enable continuous intelligence gathering over the airspace across the Middle East, with full access to the IDF and the entire defense establishment. Our responsibility at the Space Agency is to develop space capabilities so that the IDF has full, available and continuous access to all seven arenas.”
The summit was led by IMOD’s DDR&D in collaboration with Tel Aviv University’s Blavatnik Cyber Research Center.
Among the various dignitaries and experts who attended the conference were Professor Isaac Ben-Israel, Major General (retired), Chairman of the Conference and Director of TAU’s Blavatnik Cyber Research Center; General Brig. Yehuda Almachias, head of IMOD’s DDR&D research and development department. Moshe Patel, Israeli Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) Director of DDR&D, IDF Technology Intelligence LOTEM Force Commander, Brig. Gen. Yael Grossman. General Sir Nicholas Patrick Carter, former Chief of the British Defense Staff. and Sequoia Capital Global Partner Sean Maguire.
