A Robotic Forward Guard

Col. Nir Halamish, Head of the IDF Ground Forces Command's Weapons Development Division, speaks about the programs the IDF is developing for cutting-edge robotics and new developments on the verge of significant technological breakthroughs.

"I believe that 2013 will be the year in which a decade’s worth of processes will come to a conclusion,” declares Col. Nir Halamish in a special interview for IsraelDefense. As Head of the Weapons Department for the IDF’s Ground Forces, Halamish describes the direction in which the branch’s force buildup will focus, and notes the areas where major breakthroughs are expected to occur – including more efficient energy utilization by infantry and special forces and operating in distant locations across the battlefield.

Col. Halamish grew up in the Armored Corps, and has manned several positions in the Weapons Department for more than a decade. The interview with him took place near the time when the IDF General Staff approved a new multi-year plan (“Oz” – to be initiated in 2013-2017). The plan, which defines the strengthening directions of all the branches (including the Ground Forces), will be replacing the Tefen Multi-Year Plan which began in 2007 after the Second Lebanon War and was completed by the end of 2011.

The year 2012 was defined by the IDF as a “singular year”, The new plan was postponed by a year due to the dramatic changes in the Middle East, and after arguments between the Defense and Treasury Ministries concerning the parameters of the defense budget.

“The Tefen Multi-Year Plan is unique in two regards,” says Col. Halamish. “Firstly, it is one of the few plans in the history of the IDF that used all of its five years, and it was a very good and healthy process for the military. Secondly, it came immediately after the Second Lebanon War, and its planning stemmed from the lessons of that war. It essentially implemented all of the things that were understood from the war and was intended to allow for significant increases in crucial capabilities, as we understood were necessary in 2007.

“The plan itself brought some very significant capabilities, such as connectivity between all of the force elements on the ground, via the Digital Army Program (DAP), which has already become operational in half of the layout. In the coming years, we will expand it to the entire military, including reserves, and we will advance the ground connectivity to entities such as the Directorate of Military Intelligence, the IAF, and branches in the General Staff.”