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Israeli Defense Ministry exhibits special operations capabilities in Florida

The cutting-edge systems and products showcased include autonomous technologies, protective equipment and training simulators.

The Israeli pavilion at the 2022 Special Operations Forces conference in Tampa Bay, Florida, on May 18 2022. Credit: SIBAT, Israeli Ministry of Defense.
The Israeli pavilion at the 2022 Special Operations Forces conference in Tampa Bay, Florida, on May 18 2022. Credit: SIBAT, Israeli Ministry of Defense.

The Israeli Defense Ministry on Wednesday inaugurated a national pavilion at the 2022 Special Operations Forces Industry Conference in Tampa, Fla.

The Israeli pavilion is led by the ministry’s International Defense Cooperation Directorate, known by its Hebrew acronym, SIBAT, and includes exhibitions by some of Israel’s leading defense industries with a focus on special forces’ technologies.

“The cutting-edge systems and products showcased include autonomous technologies, protective equipment, training simulators and more,” the ministry said in a statement.

According to the head of SIBAT, Brig. Gen. (res.) Yair Kulas, the Israeli pavilion shares “advanced solutions designed to overcome the field’s diverse challenges with our partners in the United States,” and further expand technological collaboration between the participating industries.

On May 10, the ministry and Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems announced a new joint program, dubbed “Edge of Tomorrow,” to boost the lethality and survivability of infantry platoons, and to improve their ability to operate in a coordinated manner in urban warfare settings.

The program will incorporate Elbit’s Torch-X-based battle-management systems, and include augmented-reality goggles, computerized assault rifles, digital head-mounted displays, and new types of radio-command transmissions to individual soldiers, as well as other technologies.

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