״During the War, We Worked With Dozens of Startups in the Field.״: Head of The Israel MOD DDR&D at First International Defense-Tech Summit

The Head of The Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD), Directorate of Defense, Research & Development (DDR&D), Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Dr. Daniel Gold spoke at the first International Defense-Tech Summit this morning (Tuesday), led by the IMOD’s DDR&D, in collaboration with the Blavatnik Cyber Research Center at Tel Aviv University. The summit brings together senior officials from the DDR&D, IDF, defense industries, academia, entrepreneurship, startups, and venture capital funds.

Dr. Gold addressed Israel’s revolutionary advancements in air & missile defense capabilities:

"Air & missile defense is changing the world. Arrow 3 was operated for the first time against a missile launched from Yemen at a distance of more than 1,500 km. We are continuously improving our air & missile defense systems; during the war alone, we implemented dozens of system improvements. In the current war, David's Sling and Iron Dome successfully intercepted rockets, missiles, UAVs, and cruise missiles. We are constantly examining how to intercept drones with other drones and take down enemy drones using nets. During the war, we worked with dozens of startups in the field. We created a methodology for integrating a startup in the field - something the world is still trying to figure out."

Against the backdrop of the current war, the IMOD reports a significant increase in industry cooperation with 86 Israeli startups and small companies, amounting to approximately $168 million between October 2023 and September 2024 – five times more than the same period last year (according to DDR&D data). These companies join about 200 other startups working with DDR&D to develop various innovative technologies and capabilities. The deepening cooperation between DDR&D and Israeli startups increases local manufacturing independence and strengthens the Israeli economy.