Any day that begins by you having to show your passport to armed security guards that entered the bus, who then proceed to place stickers on your phone’s camera, so you can’t take pictures, has all the hallmarks of an exciting day, and this did not disappoint.

We had arrived at Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), which develops and produces systems for the defence and commercial markets including satellites, space systems, defence systems, missiles, unmanned aerial systems (drones), autonomous vehicles and more.

Our top line briefing from was breathtaking in its scope and the ties back to Australian and our own defence systems extraordinary.

We were then taken on a tour to see first-hand the autonomous drones, how they’re built and fly and to hear that Israel has been using them for the past 20 years and that 60% of all flight hours flown by Israeli’s was in unmanned planes. We then ventured on to a hangar to watch the assembly and building of planes.

Our day continued on to an IHLS a private accelerator to hear pitches from 3 start up’s. It was fascinating to hear it’s founder say that this accelerator started its life a s a media company, publishing 4 article every day on security and defence, which then grew them a data base of interested parties, who then attended  conference they organised, at which they showcased start up’s, who were then invested in by the audience – and so grew a $100 million dollar global incubator.

We then travelled on to Elbit Industries one of the world’s largest military and commercial aerospace, land and naval systems manufacturers who supply army and police around the world including Australia, where they 3 offices and 200+ staff.

We were taken on a tour of online hacking and shown some of the incredible way’s rogue individuals, governments and authorities are able to listen in on our conversations and watch our actions and then shown some of the spy novel / sci fi tech they’re actually using to keep us safe.

Without doubt we all left that briefing absolutely terrified of what is being done, of how little privacy we really have, how easy it is to “hack” into anything and anybody and how incredibly cool the toys are that are being deployed by our army and police force in keeping us safe.

The day then rolled onto dinner at with the Australian Ambassador to Israel, His Excellency Ambassador Chris Cannan, who along with 30 other dignitaries told us of the work and ties between Australia an Israel.

Another mind-blowing day, so much learnt and so much seen, can’t wait to bring it all back home and start sharing, applying and building on it.

Tomorrow we explore Mobility, Transport, IOT, AI and big data – bring it on.

If you want more insights, want to be connected to any of these people, or just to chat about Israel’s innovation scene and perhaps find collaborators here for your great idea, DM me.

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