Investment in Civil Development Helps Push the Military Forward
Historically, military forces and government bodies have
both played a key role in the development of technological innovation.
Technologies originally developed for military use eventually reach the civil
market, revolutionizing it. The best-known example is probably the internet,
which is partly based on a Pentagon-funded computer network.
In the past few years, however, an opposite trend has become
apparent: technologies developed for the civil market found their way over to
security agencies, who are more than happy to tailor them to their own needs.
Colonel Y, the exiting commander of the Israeli military's Unit 9900, a visual
intelligence unit that together with Unit 8200 and Unit 504 makes up the
Military Intelligence Directorate (known in Hebrew as Aman), knows this trend
well.
"When the private market invests $12 billion, you
cannot compete with that," he said in a recent retirement interview with
Calcalist. "When immense sums are invested in autonomous cars, all that is
left for me is to coast along with it. This is a major change, but it still
takes a lot of work to incorporate it into the directorate."
Y, a father of five who lives in central Israel, has served
in the Israeli intelligence corps for 28 years. Three years ago, he was
selected to head Unit 9900, which is in charge of collecting, processing, and
analyzing all of the military's visual and geographical intelligence. The unit
plans, constructs, and operates Israel's surveillance satellites; creates
accurate maps for the military and the Israeli security agencies; and processes
and analyzes the data collected via satellites, airplanes, and drones to
generate insights.
Unit 9900 is the one who creates the intelligence gathering
plans for the air force's pilots and also operates some of the military drones,
Y explained, adding that there is no military operation where 9900 does not
participate at almost every stage of the process. "From the mapping
infrastructure—because at the end of the day a bomb needs to reach its
target—to analyzing and understanding the intelligence," he said.
"For example, during the attack on the Syrian reactor, we were there from the
initial stages of understating the operation, through locating and analyzing
the reactor, to the creation of accurate geographic infrastructure for training
that would enable the bombs to reach the right place."
Unit 9900's operations saw a major boost as a result of
recent developments in the space industry, and especially the appearance of
private companies like Elon Musk's SpaceX, according to Y. "I do not know
how many people in Israel are aware of it, but there is an insane revolution
going on in the space industry," he said. "Space is more accessible
and affordable than ever, and that enables us to make the most of space with
small, cheap satellites. It is a sector we aim for, and in many ways we in 9900
shape it."
The abilities the military is looking for in the civil
market are not necessarily those that develop naturally, Y said. "I shape
the market by exporting demands and showing interest in an existing civil
ability," he explained. "When I tell a company 'you built five such
satellites and I need 50,' that changes their work." The unit sees space
as a new dimension for intelligence gathering, he said—while it used to be
expensive and strategic, now it is used for tactical needs, with satellite
types ranging from communication to photography.
The physical infrastructure already exists, Y said, with
satellites that record the world constantly. But to analyze that information
and generate insight, an artificial intelligence system is needed, he
explained. "Some of those systems we develop ourselves, some we buy."
Another domain that developed independently of the unit is
drones, Y said. "Drones do not interest me in and of themselves, they will
just fly higher, further, and faster. I am interested in the developing domain
of sensors, not necessarily ones for military needs but for agriculture,
measurements, and photography," he said. "The great thing is that it
is like Lego: you can take a good drone and a sensor and create a new ability
we did not have. I am interested in complex sensors that enable us to discover
new things, that is why are establishing a drone unit that will take on complex
tasks."
9900 uses machine vision to analyze the vast amounts of data
it receives, Y said. Another civil vector they use is the autonomous vehicle, a
combination of sensors, AI, computer vision, and exact mapping frameworks.
"This entire industry is developing like crazy and we just need to harness
it to our needs."
Change occurs in areas where monetary incentives exist, Y
said. "Large market forces invest a lot of money and we can use that.
Space was once NASA's domain, then private players entered, and since then the
market has only flourished." The military will still invest in domains
where the security ecosystem has special needs, but it would be foolish to
invest in fields the civil market is already investing in.
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