13 Preparing for the Future Battlefield: The IDF Land-Warfare Conference In today’s national-security debates, big landwars are out, and unmanned systems in. Yet betting too heavily on cyber warfare and new technologies may miss an important point: Namely, the enemy has a say, too. To ensure that Israel’s defense forces are equally ready for the land-warfare possibility, the IDF’s Land Warfare Research Institute held a conference in December hosted by Bar-Ilan’s Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA) and organized in collaboration with Bar-Ilan’s Spokesperson’s Unit. Titled “The Future Battlefield,” the conference focused on four main topics: strategies for building tomorrow’s land forces; strengthening tomorrow’s land forces through the use of AI; the place of unmanned drones in tomorrow’s land battles; and the role of industry. Featuring keynote speeches by leading generals—including Major General Tamir Yadai, commander of the IDF’s Ground Forces; Major General Sa’ar Tzur, commander of the Northern Corps and head of Maneuver Array; and Major General (res.) Gershon Hacohen, former commander of the IDF Military Colleges—as well as BESA experts, researchers from other Israeli universities, and industry executives, the conference was the first to bring the military, the academy, and industry together for knowledge-sharing on the topic. Among the Bar-Ilan researchers who spoke at the conference were military historian Dr. Eitan Shamir, head of the BeginSadat Center for Strategic Studies, who discussed landwarfare from a historical perspective; computer scientist Prof. Noa Agmon, who spoke about the latest developments in military robots; electrochemist Prof. Doron Aurbach, who explained the potential of energy storage to remake battle capabilities; and President of Bar-Ilan Prof. Arie Zaban, who explained that tomorrow’s top soldiers may well need a computer science degree. “Just as Bar-Ilan has adapted itself to meet the needs of Israel’s high-tech industry,” he promised, “wewill also ensure that Israel maintains its defensive advantage.” Dr. Eitan Shamir Image generated by AI
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