ISDEF Expo, Israel’s largest international defense, homeland security and cyber exhibition, is running its 11th edition in the country’s coastal city of Tel Aviv, where hundreds of participating defense companies are showcasing their latest military technologies.
The three-day event, which will conclude on Wednesday, has attracted dozens of military delegations and thousands of visitors, mostly professionals, from Israel and abroad to focus on the automation or remote control of the modern weaponry and military equipment, especially at a juncture when the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is raging on, according to Avnon Group, organizer of the ISDEF Expo.
Tamir Pardo, former director of Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad, told Xinhua that the use of the right technology is needed as human spirit and capability is not enough alone to deal with all global challenges.
“We have today many things that come out of hard R&D work, which will enable us to solve homeland security problems,” said Pardo, a keynote speaker at the expo convention.
The exhibits at the defense expo include remotely controlled or fully automated air, land, and water machinery that can carry deadly weapons and different kinds of cameras, remotely controlled armed vehicles able to cross harsh terrains, climb up obstacles and drive through bodies of water, and unmanned helicopters equipped with firearms that can gun down a target 300 meters away.
It is worth noting that some of the vehicles on display have strong batteries or use solar energy to support longer hours of operation, while some others are big enough to carry on them smaller machines such as a major drone for a manageable mission.
The robot dog performing somersaults and other moves is also a highlight of the 2022 ISDEF Expo.
“We brought the dog behind me as a teaser for something we’re starting to develop. The idea is to have some kind of a reconnaissance UGV (unmanned ground vehicle),” said Hadar Sommer, head of operation at TAR Ideal Concepts, a subordinate company of Avnon Group.
The robot dog “could get into … less convenient locations or scenarios and make recommendations for soldiers … and even carry out missions and tasks … that risk soldiers’ safety and health,” Sommer told Xinhua.
Anat Hochberg-Marom, an expert on international security and geopolitical crisis, told Xinhua that the world is seeing more budgets going to security areas, “specially and specifically for the defense of the countries.”
“The best solution for global threats is to collaborate between states and between global powers,” noted Hochberg-Marom, another keynote speaker at the convention. “This is time to be friends and put aside all frenemies options.” ■
