Israel's defense tech revolution unleashed on the border

Last week, the third cohort of Protect, a defense and homeland security accelerator, launched in a kibbutz on the Gaza border. Operated by SouthUp, a regional incubator, the program focuses on developing advanced defense and homeland security technologies within the Western Negev, aiming to rebuild the region after October 7. Uri Epstein, mayor of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council, stated, "We are building a 'meaning economy' - a paradigm where success is not measured by a profit-and-loss sheet alone, but by the fact that we are active characters writing our own collective survival." This initiative, supported by the Israel Innovation Authority and several ministries, emphasizes "triple-use" technology, serving military, civilian, and agricultural needs simultaneously.

• The current cohort focuses on drone, counter-drone, and tactical-edge warfare, with startups developing solutions like Anty's dynamic RF multiplexer for reduced electromagnetic signatures and a SLAM-powered module for autonomous subterranean navigation.
• Vaxera has created a soldier-wearable sensor for acoustic drone detection, and another startup is developing ultra-low-cost smart fuzes for mass-produced micro-drones.
• Beyond defense, the program includes humanitarian technologies such as a drone-mounted neutron generator for rapid landmine clearance, capable of scanning a square kilometer per day.
• A psychiatric biotechnology pioneer is developing a portable inhaler to prevent PTSD by disrupting emotional encoding within a six-hour "golden window" post-trauma.