Artificial intelligence-powered ground vehicles will gradually transform Israel's ground combat capabilities when faced with adversaries deeply embedded in urban settings. Such adversaries are currently difficult to detect and respond to in time.

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In October, the Defense Ministry announced that, following a two-year selection process, Israel Aerospace Industries subsidiary Elta had been chosen as the prime contractor for its Carmel future combat vehicle program.

Yoav Turgeman, CEO of Elta, told JNS that the arrival of ground vehicles powered by artificial intelligence and with autonomous capabilities will likely begin to gradually dominate land missions just as unmanned aerial vehicles have done in air forces across the world in recent years.

"IAI is going back to what it did 50 years ago when it demonstrated the UAV. Initially, it was very difficult for air forces to accept this. Today, UAVs are active in every modern air force and conduct more flight time than manned aircraft," he stated.

After air forces recognized the technological and operational advantages of UAVs, they began to increasingly incorporate them into growing numbers of missions.

"I think this will be the same with future armored vehicles. This is a breakthrough concept that the IDF is leading, alongside very few states in the West," he added.

In a statement last month, the Defense Ministry said that the Defense Research and Development Directorate had selected IAI-Elta to lead the Carmel program and that development would be conducted in cooperation with the IDF's Ground Forces and the Defense Ministry's Tank and Armored Personnel Carrier Directorate.

According to the ministry, the objective of the move is to "significantly improve maneuvering capabilities. The Carmel concept will be applied to current and future armored fighting vehicles and will include crew members in closed hatches, operating a range of autonomous and AI-driven platforms."

Turgeman said IAI-Elta planned for two onboard personnel to replace the traditional four-person tank crew, thanks to the ability of the onboard computer "brain" to take over many key missions. The onboard crew will be able to "see through" thick steel, thereby eliminating the need to place their heads out of the hatchets in hazardous combat zones.

"This creates good situational awareness," Turgeman said. "Our solution is made up of a system and a process that makes decision-making easier. The tank can drive itself off-road as well and can recalculate its routes while dealing with obstacles. It does not require a human to drive it."

The Athena computer system that controls the vehicle uses a range of sensors to locate the enemy, analyze its firearms, scan multiple lines of sights, and then use that data to influence routes and operational decision-making. That data also influences the kind of firepower the system advises be activated and whether to drive forward to take cover.

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Athena presents all significant decision recommendations to a human operator for approval, said Turgeman. Ultimately, this enables the human operator to focus on the larger battle picture and ensure they are not distracted by technical matters, he explained. Instead of worrying whether their tank will hit a wall, where they are located on a map, or how to recalculate a route, the human operator can focus on managing the battle.

"Athena is a system that also receives data from external sensors; it plans courses of action from a variety of information," said Turgeman. It relies on AI and deep reasoning capabilities that IAI-Elta has been developing for years.

The Carmel model includes radars, advanced cameras, and systems that can detect the source of enemy fire. These sensors provide Athena with a continuous stream of data.

Asked if Carmel's technologies were currently being introduced into IDF systems, Turgeman said he would not "rule it out," but stressed that Carmel is more about capabilities than any individual single vehicle.

"These capabilities can go onto a number of platforms," he said.

Components of the Carmel future combat vehicle program will be integrated onto the Israel Defense Force's Eitan armored fighting vehicle, according to the Defense Ministry.

In an October statement, the Defense Ministry said that "many of the Carmel's capabilities will be autonomous, including travel, detection of threats, defense, and acquisition of targets. With its innovative user interface, soldiers in the vehicle will be able to view the battlefield in several dimensions. They will receive intelligence, detect threats, and acquire targets automatically, enabling them to effectively assess situations and make optimal decisions."

It noted: "The Carmel concept is groundbreaking on a global scale and has garnered the interest of many international industries and militaries."

"There are many interested parties, and we have received offers of cooperation from" major companies," Turgeman said. "We are examining these in coordination with the defense establishment."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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In another apparent cyberattack against Israel, Iranian hacker group Pay2Key said on Sunday that it successfully breached the computer system of Israel Aerospace Industries' subsidiary company Elta, which developed the radar used in the Iron Dome missile defense system, and reportedly leaked sensitive data on the dark web.

"Knock Knock! Tonight is longer than longest night for @ILAerospaceIAI," the group wrote cryptically on Twitter on Sunday.

Knock Knock!

Tonight is longer than longest night for @ILAerospaceIAI

New logo appeared in #Pay2Key directory, check it out!

— Winter is coming (Pay2Key) (@PKeytwt) December 20, 2020

The information thus far leaked to the dark web was not classified but may not be all the hackers seized in the attack. State-owned IAI said it was looking into the matter.

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As a reminder, one week ago Pay2Key claimed it hacked a subsidiary of Intel in Israel and 40 companies that import coronavirus vaccines to the country.

Earlier this month, a major cyberattack hit dozens of Israeli logistics companies, with hackers making off with information from servers.

In November, the Israeli cyber security firm Check Point revealed that Iranian hackers were behind a Pay2Key ransomware attack on dozens of Israeli companies.

The hackers demanded payment of seven to nine bitcoins, worth some NIS 375,000-475,000 ($111,000-$141,000) from each of the companies that fell prey to the ransomware attack.

Check Point reported that after four of the firms decided to pay the ransom to release their data, it tracked the bitcoin transactions carried out by the hackers and identified them as Iranian.

Ido Naor, founder and CEO of Israeli cybersecurity company Security Joes, told Israel Hayom: "Based on the reputation of the [Iranian] hacker group, we believe a real threat lies behind the tweet, which will materialize in the near future. The attacks on Intel, Amital and Shirbit only reinforce the fact that Israel is under a concentrated and deliberate attack."

Another cybersecurity expert who spoke with Israel Hayom said that Pay2Key's tweet was "mainly proof on their part that their hack was successful. They didn't say they want a ransom, but it's safe to assume they will do so soon."

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The companies will collaborate in the fields of research and development in an effort to find solutions to the coronavirus.

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The cooperation agreement was signed with the Elta division during a video call between the UAE and Israel, during which ways to leverage common innovative technologies in the fields of artificial intelligence, sensors, laser, and more were discussed.

It should be noted that the state-of-the-art solutions and joint medical and technological initiatives are not only meant to help the populations of the two countries but to aid the global and regional fight against the coronavirus.

IAI Executive Vice President and Elta CEO Yoav Turgeman said, "IAI is pleased to sign this cooperation agreement with our partners in Abu Dhabi. The coronavirus disease crosses continents, peoples, and religions and we see paramount importance in the cooperation that will deliver breakthrough solutions. In recent months, IAI has joined the fight against the coronavirus on the basis of the technological know-how, capabilities, and boldness that have existed in IAI since its inception.

"The best minds in [the] company have enlisted in the campaign to protect Israel and help the healthcare system. We are proud to team up with Group 42 from the United Arab Emirates and represent the first step toward future partnerships between the two countries," he said.

Last week, both Israel and the UAE announced that private companies from both countries will join forces to research and develop technology to fight the coronavirus.

Israel and the UAE do not have formal diplomatic relations, but they are believed to maintain close behind-the-scenes contacts because of their shared concerns about Iran.

Earlier this month, the UAE's ambassador to the United States published an op-ed in an Israeli newspaper confirming that ties had improved but warned Israel that proceeding with the sovereignty bid would "upend" any efforts to normalize relations with Arab states.

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Last month, the UAE sent a cargo plane to Israel loaded with coronavirus-related aid it said was destined for the Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority said it could not receive the aid because there had been no prior coordination.

Netanyahu has boasted of quietly improving ties with Arab states, but full normalization still appears unlikely without a resolution of the conflict with the Palestinians.

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