The future of autonomous vehicles is coming to Jerusalem

The International Congress Center (ICC) in Jerusalem (formerly the Nation Buildings) will host the World’s Conference on Unmanned, Remote and Autonomous Vehicles 2026 on February 16-17, 2026. This is the second year that the international conference is held in the capital and it will bring together in one place the innovations, research and policies that shape the next generation of autonomous systems in the air, at sea and on land.

The URAV 2026 conference will present the latest trends in policy, innovation and groundbreaking research and examine the scientific, industrial, regulatory and social aspects of integrating autonomous systems into everyday life. Among the main topics at the conference – artificial intelligence applications in autonomous and smart tools, developments and innovation in military and defense technology, drones for municipal uses, critical infrastructure monitoring and advanced applications of smart on- and underwater platforms and deep exploration.

The conference seeks to expand global knowledge in the field and strengthen collaborations between experts, policy makers, academics and industry. Throughout the days of the conference, there will be expert lectures, professional panels and the presentation of current research alongside a focused networking area to create connections between different entities operating in this field. This year special emphasis will be placed on regulation and public responsibility, acceleration of national projects in the fields of drones, autonomous transportation and marine systems.

The preoccupation with unmanned vehicles has intensified in recent years, among other things also against the background of the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, in which there was an unprecedented use of autonomous systems that changed the face of the battlefield. Alongside the security aspect, this year the conference will examine the accelerated penetration of these tools into the civilian space and will present active applications such as precision agriculture, medicine and blood transfusion, fire detection and extinguishing, smart urban and interurban transportation, and preventive enforcement.

Among the main speakers who will take part in the conference: Dr. Alon Stopel, chairman of the Israel Innovation Authority; Dr. David Harari, winner of the Israel Prize for his part in the development of unmanned aircraft systems; Dr. Yehudit Hocherman, former VP of R&D at Rafael; Prof. Itzik Klein, Head of the Hatter Marine Technologies Department, Haifa University; Prof. Amir Degani, Water and Agriculture Environmental Engineering Unit, Technion and more.

“We are at the beginning of a decade in which unmanned, remote and autonomous vehicles will change the rules of the game, from transportation and agriculture to security,” said Brigadier General (Res.) Eitan Eshel, president of the conference, VP of Technology, Research, Development and Innovation at the Aerospace Industry, and former head of R&D at the Ministry of Defense. “In the coming years, these vehicles will seamlessly integrate into the routine of life, and will lead to significant progress in technology, in research and business opportunities”.

The international conference for unmanned, remote and autonomous vehicles started on February 16 in Jerusalem. The event is intended for organizations, policy makers, the business sector, academics, and technology agencies and associations involved in the field.

“The main goal of the conference is to connect researchers, engineers, industrialists from the public and private sectors, and policy makers, to present their vision, to reveal diverse applications of unmanned tools in various fields, and to discuss the challenges arising from the autonomy of the tools and their complementary systems,” says Ofer Gil, CEO of Paragon, the producer of the conference. You can register on the conference’s official website until January 25 The organizers offer a discount while using the code MEDIA15 during registration.