Training in mine clearance from a country that hates Israel

Spain visits Israel, and trains Lebanon

Spain under the government of Pedro Sánchez is considered the most critical country against Israel among the European Union, and this is reflected among other things in the defense industries, with which the administration in Madrid canceled deals during the war. However, it is now evident that this is far from Madrid’s only influence on the security situation in the Middle East: the Spanish army has completed an eight-week training of Lebanese army soldiers in demining in Zaragoza and Beirut.

For this mission, the Spaniards integrated a local company that deals in the field of identification and removal of weapons, which trained teams for six weeks – and the last two weeks were a trial run. The training was carried out under the “Technical Council for Lebanon” (MTC4L), an international entity that aims to improve the capabilities of the Lebanese army and includes other Western countries, including Italy, Germany and France.

At least at the declarative level, the Lebanese army is interested in using the training in order to deal with the consequences of the recent escalations between Israel and Hezbollah. Clearing the mines is only one layer of the training that MTC4L provides for the Lebanese Army, when in the first half of the year the Lebanese Air Force pilots underwent combat training.

The Pentagon’s trillion-dollar procurement spree

The budget conference of the American House of Representatives presented the defense procurement intended in the 2027 budget, which is expected to be 1.15 trillion dollars – according to the Pentagon’s request. The impact of Operation Harry’s Roar on the American defense budget is evident from the expenditures on the development of weapons production capabilities, amounting to approximately 10.6 billion dollars, and in particular the Patriot PAC-3 interceptors, THAAD and Tomahawk missiles that were recently launched in extremely unusual quantities.

Looking ahead, a $379.9 million investment in US President Donald Trump’s “golden dome” vision for a multi-layered air defense system over the US is evident. At the same time, an investment of no less than a billion dollars is planned in the autonomous attack group program. That is, extensive use of unmanned means in various arenas, for the benefit of security missions.

In the procurement of means, as expected, a particularly large amount of aircraft is evident. Among these are approximately $3.5 billion for the purchase of 15 KC-46 refuelers, and $2.6 billion for F-15EX bombers. In the field of fighter jets, it seems that the Americans are already looking ahead, and are interested in budgeting the F-47 sixth generation fighter jet project at 5 billion dollars.

Poland purchases billions of dollars at the expense of the European Union

Poland’s Ministry of Defense closed deals with local companies in an exceptionally large amount of about 60 billion zlotys (about 16.5 billion dollars) for the purchase of armored vehicles, cannons, mortars and additional ammunition, with the help of the European Union’s SAFE program for low-interest defense loans. The program, which was approved in May last year, includes 150 billion euros in long-term loans of up to 45 years, with lenders having the option of freezing payments for a decade

Warsaw’s procurement plan is appropriate for Brussels, because the requirement is that the procurement be of products with at least 65% of their components from EU countries or Ukraine. Quite surprisingly, there was a real political uproar in Warsaw, because President Karol Navrocki opposed taking the loan, arguing that it would allow Brussels to withhold the funds. Therefore, Defense Minister Vladislav Kusiniak-Kamish had to approve this as part of a government procedure.

Bottom line, the main beneficiary of the contracts will be the local government defense giant PGZ. The Polish government intends to use the amount to purchase 146 Bursok APCs, 96 155 mm Krab cannons, and various rocket systems. The Polish Minister of Defense explained that procurement with the help of SAFE is important, since it will require the expansion of defense production lines, thus helping to increase exports.

The communication unit that will conduct robot battles

The modern battlefield is particularly challenging due to the need to simultaneously manage many unmanned means, in the air, on land and at sea. Against this, there are measures of disruption, designed to make it difficult to manage each tool on its own, and even easier all together. In the shadow of the significant challenge, the Estonian defense company Vogvisir created a dedicated and relatively small communication unit, designed to be conveniently carried on unmanned means and to avoid communication interruptions between the many means.

The Estonian company emphasizes that the goal is to increase awareness and control in all platforms and in all arenas, with the aim of allowing commanders to manage the battlefield in all aspects, but from only one control position. In Israel, these days, they are dealing with the challenge of fiber-optic-guided FPV drones, but these are limited in range to a few kilometers, when beyond them, remote guidance that is not fiber-based is required, which burdens the drone.

This creates an opening for the drone operators to deal defensively with jamming and spoofing disturbances. In jamming, the operator’s communication with the drone is disrupted, with the goal that it will land or fly until the battery runs out and it falls. Spoofing is giving a false signal to damage the GPS navigation capabilities. The Vagvisir company solves the challenges by managing and prioritizing communication channels on an ongoing basis between fifth generation and fourth generation, Wi-Fi, Starlink satellite terminals, and tactical military networks.

The Israeli companies that develop a defense system from drones

The Israeli companies Rafael and SpearUAV presented this week a strategic cooperation, designed to strengthen the defense capabilities of maneuvering forces against aerial threats, and especially against drones and roving weapons.

As part of the collaboration, which combines Rafael’s experience in developing multi-layered defense systems with SpearUAV’s capabilities in the field of autonomous systems, the new Iron Wasp interceptor will be developed, designed to be installed on a vehicle and allows interception of threats while in motion.

The new system is based on SpearUAV’s Viper technology, and will allow forces in the field a fast, available and easy-to-use ability to deal with aerial threats, without the need for prior preparation or the activation of complex systems.

The Iron Wasp will add another layer of protection, based on a combination of detection, identification and interception in one array to Rafael’s multi-layered defense concept. The system allows for aerial interception, immediate launch capability thanks to a compact structure and low resource consumption, while on the move and without the need for advance preparations, the ability to deal with fast targets and a low signature cost, and it integrates with the existing systems without adding operational complexity to the forces in the field.

The drone is launched from a small multi-barrel launcher that is installed directly on top of the rocket vessel and allows for integration with sensors and other means according to operational needs.

This cooperation strengthens Rafael’s multi-layered defense concept, which includes, among others, the Trophy, Drone Dome, SAMSON and laser systems.

Robots, extinguishing and desalination: the new developments in the defense system

The second Innotal innovation conference of ATL, the Directorate for Research, Weapons Development and Technological Infrastructure at the Ministry of Defense and the Israel Institute for Innovation took place in Tel Aviv. The conference presented the innovative technologies that are already at the heart of the IDF’s operational activities, centered on the Intel program that leads a second cycle in the fields of medicine, robotics, automobiles, energy and other smart operational solutions.

Among the systems presented at the conference is a mobile water filtration and desalination system for fighters in enemy territory by the start-up Woosh Waters, which is currently working together with the land technology division to characterize the operations. An intriguing development in the drone-saturated combat world is a system for quickly extinguishing the ignition of ammunition and lithium batteries, with the start-up SurtBusters already conducting early experiments.

The defense system is also interested in ways to implement artificial intelligence (AI) to increase efficiency in all aspects. In this aspect, Inotel turned to work with companies such as Mimshak for artificial intelligence that helps create interactive training content, and with the LEO company for the purpose of accompanying mechanical engineers who work at the IDF’s rehabilitation and maintenance center.