IDF Shares Innovations in Defense and Tech with Allies from 20 Countries

JERUSALEM, Israel – Israel is long known for its military’s capability.  Given the country’s size and with enemies on all borders, Israel realizes the importance of innovation in defense and sharing knowledge with allies.

Israel recently conducted a multi-dimensional live-fire exercise, attended by 1,500 high ranking officers, including U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley.

“All of us are like-minded, we're all allies and partners of one kind or another,” Milley said. “And we are all giving way together to try to figure out what the feature operational environment is, and to innovate and develop our forces, our organization, our doctrines, our structures in our equipment in order to meet future challenges.”

At the Tse’elim training base, the Israel Defense Forces hosted military personnel from 20 countries for the International Operational Innovation Conference.  Their aim: using technology effectively in order to win the war and save lives.

“I think the big, big punchline of all that is multidimensional, how we act in a multidimensional battle, and prepare our forces in the air and [on] the ground and in the sea,” IDF International Spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht explained.

The objective is to use innovation in dealing with challenges like the ability of enemies to easily obtain tech such as drones to use against Israel.  One example is creatively gathering enemy intelligence and getting it to the field as quickly as possible.

The three-day conference culminated with the live-fire exercise displaying Israel’s capability from the air and ground through its use of planes, helicopters, tanks, drones and foot soldiers.

Hecht sees the conference as a compass in terms of pointing the way to military diplomacy.   

“We know that when we are acting together with other militaries, we can learn from each other. We can engage. And the fact now that the Central Command commander here is it's also engaging with the region,” he told CBN News.

Hecht adds that it can also send a message on the importance of international stability.    

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