The Weapon Wizards: How Israel Became a High-Tech Military Superpower

This well written history and current state of military technology and weapons acquisition by the State of Israel is a must read for those with an interest in military history, Israel's modern history, acquisition policy, and Middle Eastern current events. Published in 2017, it still packs a punch for relevancy, being so well written that it will remain a classic of this topic moving forward. Israel's defense establishment has an interesting history. But few people realize how much the United States and several other major powers have relied on Israel to advance their own research and development. Israel's relationship with the US and other powers is a genuine quid-pro-quo where, for example, US funding and conceptualization is used to jump start an Israeli program resulting in an improved and battle tested final product. One area where Israel has led the world and greatly assisted the US is in UAV/Drone technology. The US investment in Israel in the 1980s led directly to the US finally acquiring a working drone system in time for the 1991 Gulf War. I remember this very well having been involved tangentially in the US program in the 1980s and 90s and watching Israeli Pioneers at work in the liberation of Kuwait.Yaakov Katz and Amir Bohbot have written a genuine classic.There are so many interesting tidbits in this book, I give it my highest recommendation.

The title of The Weapon Wizards might scare you off. Weapons? Who wants to read about them? Probably just another boring fact-filled book that geeks read… right? Not so fast, there. Go on, take a look at the sub-title and the reviews on the back. You’ll find that it’s actually the story of how Israel became a high-tech military superpower. Israel was founded in 1948. Right after World War II, as pro-Jewish sentiment was increasing due to the atrocities committed against them, the Israelis began to rebel against their occupiers, the British. A few years of guerrilla warfare and some UN meetings later, the nation state of Israel became a fact. Except, that fact was about to become history, for as soon as Israel was founded, an Arab coalition attacked. Six large countries with mighty, established militaries attacked a just-founded country of less than six million that had just finished years of grinding war. Making the Jewish situation even worse, they couldn’t afford to lose even an inch of ground. Israel has no strategic depth—they have a perimeter and a small amount of land and that’s it. There could be no retreat. Despite these terrible odds, however, the Israelis endured. For nine months, the war raged, until at last, peace was made. But the Israelis knew that the peace wouldn’t last forever. In fact, it would probably disintegrate very soon. They needed a way to maintain an edge over the Arab forces. Quantity couldn’t even be considered. But quality was a viable option. They could have better-trained soldiers and they could have better equipment. There was just one obstacle: nearly all countries, including the US, wouldn’t sell them weapons. The solution was simple, yet extremely complex. Israel could make its own weapons. This was radical. Almost all countries buy weapons from outside, typically from a major power, like the US, Russia, or China. These and a few other countries have the money and manpower to make complex machinery useful only during wartime. Israel, however, was over ten times smaller and at least that much poorer. To do the impossible—stave off the united Arab countries—Israel had to do the impossible—develop world-class weaponry that was typically reserved for far larger and wealthier countries. More than fifty years later, Israel has emerged as a regional power. After numerous conflicts, shifts, and changed threats, they are still standing. Even though their priority has shifted from defeating large Arab countries like Egypt and Syria to subduing the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah, they have adapted with success. Their weapons are sold globally and rank in the top 10. They have even entered the realm of world powers by developing nuclear weaponry, ballistic missiles, and satellites of their own. So how did Israel do it? How did they develop such great weapons against such terrible odds? It’s a multi-part answer and one that the authors gradually reveal throughout the book by exploring individual stories. The book begins by talking about Israel’s culture, moves on to detail the early successes, and then focuses on individual weapons, discussing their story and history. Through all this, the how of this weapon wonder country is shown. I can really only suggest one thing: read it.

The justification for Israel's use of military force divides opinion right across the globe. But the strength and effectiveness of this force is unarguable. This book explains how such a small nation has managed to develop a capacity to punch so far above its weight. It's clear and persuasive and, in fact, goes further in that it sheds much light on how armed conflict in general is changing with technology. My only complaint is that the authors go out of their way to provide a pro-Israel spin on everything. Thus almost every operation described has a comment about how care was taken to avoid non-combatant casualties. Most of the time, this spin is just a little tiresome. On occasion, it is laughable. Thus, the Suez fiasco - probably the most significant defeat Israel has suffered in its history - is covered in just one sentence "The war did not go as planned but Israel had achieved its goal of further solidifying its relationship with France." Most pernicious, though, is the claim that the civilian-combatant death ratio dropped from 1:1 in 2002 to 1:30 in 2009. If this is an official government statistic, it reveals much about whom the Israeli government regards as a combatant. The authors are clearly talented writers and I am curious as to what drove them to build in this spin. Was it a sense of patriotic duty? Was there official government pressure to do so? Did the publisher feel it would boost sales? It makes for a less authoritative book, but nevertheless, I am happy to recommend it because the spin is a relatively minor flaw in a most insightful book.

Very interesting read, I could not put it down.

One of the most interesting books that I have read.

Before we dip dive into the book, let us recall an important two-decade back incident. There was a massive infiltration from Pakistani side of LOC. However, India took time but it managed to detect infiltrations and was successful in pushing the infiltrators behind the LOC. We better know the conflict as Kargil War. Now why I am bringing it here in the discussion space? India lacked modern warfare equipment to fight such high altitude war. Israel came to India’s rescue. Israel provided ammunitions, surveillance materials, laser guided missiles and automated aerial vehicles, which helped India gaining an upper hand and hastened the end of the conflict. The noteworthy fact is that Israel defied USA and other strong nation pressure tactics while providing the weapons to India. If you have cognizance about Israel’s contribution in that war then you are bound to develop a sense of gratitude towards them. Irrespective of whether you are pro-Israel or anti-Israel, you surely have to acknowledge and marvel at their astronomical rise and vertiginous growth, against all odds. Few years ago, a street protest in Tunisia spread like a wildfire in other regions of the Middle East. Mohammed Gaddafi was captured and executed in Libya, Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in Egypt and Bashar-al-Assad is still fighting rebels in Syria. The civil war had given birth to ISIS. In Lebanon, Hezbollah has been acquiring sophisticated weapons. Therefore, Israel is facing challenges from not only nations but also full-fledged trained terrorist organizations. The protracted animosity seems to stay. There is a change in the way, the war is fought around the globe and accordingly Israel is adapting to the changes by building advanced technological weapons for its military. The combination of innovation, drive and technology has provided Israel with unprecedented success. Its sublime and state of art weapon manufacturing industry is generation ahead of its adversaries. It had a major impact on the modern battlefield. The book attempts to narrate stories about how each weapon came in a different era and different circumstances, driven by inspirations and motivations of weapon inventors. After Yom Kippur war, Israel realized that it had made some grave errors in terms of intelligence and technology. During the inter-war years, it had failed to innovate. Its main weapon supplier France made an U-turn and suddenly cut Israel off and Soviet Union had been pouring new weapon technologies into the Arab nation. The thoughts and development gave rise to the birth of the most elite unit- Talpiot. The idea was to create an army unit where the soldiers not only learn but also are encouraged to think. The students are attached with each unit in the IDF from the artillery to infantry, to the Navy and Air Force to get an impression about how each units does its job. The Talpiots become military research and development experts. They have had an impact on every weapon and communications system used by IDF and Israel intelligence. Let us discuss genesis of some of the products, considered apogee of Israel technological brilliance in warfare and security areas. Let us begin with an invention, which I found the most interesting. In 1969, Israel developed a toy plane and made it circulate over a patch of sand into the enemy territory. The gunners opened fire with a deafening sound. Israelis lost sight of the plane but to their surprise, after the cloud of smoke cleared, the toy plane was still there. The airborne target was too small for the enemy to strike. Israel tested the flights at different altitudes from 300 to 1000 feet. The success spur Israel to penetrate miles into Egypt’s territory. The unmanned plane also managed to capture images. When the film was finally developed, they were astonished with the photographs resolution. They could clearly see Egyptian military trenches built along the canal. Israel then reached to its defense companies to develop, lightweight unmanned aerial vehicle, which we commonly refer today as drone. Israel manufactured drone Scout was engaged in combat during Lebanon war in 1982. During a conflict with Syria, Israel Air force maneuver was severely limited by presence of twenty Soviet made surface-to-air missile (SAM) . The Scout flew into enemy territory and collected radar and communication frequencies from SAM batteries, which was just enough for Israel Air Force to neutralize almost all of the Syrian SAM’s. This is exactly what happened and Israel managed to knock off 82 Syrian’s MIG without losing a single fighter jet of their own. While, the Scout was moving from one successful operation to another, the USA was struggling to put their own drone operational despite billions of dollars were poured into the project. The fiasco compelled USA to turn to Israel for help. Israel was soon the largest exporter of drones. Apart from USA, Russia, South Korea, Australia, France and Germany were its customers. Israel’s drones are originally designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. They fly over targets and monitor development situations. Though not confirmed by Israel but it has been documented that drone such as Heron has the ability to destroy targets as well. A drone assassinated Hamas military commander, Ahmed Jabari. Not all drones are flown from air bases. Some like Skylark can be pulled out from soldier’s backpack and thrown into the air. This provides commanders with quick over-the-hill intelligence. This can fly at an altitude of 3000 feet and can fly up to three hours. Israel realized the importance of tank during 1967 six-day war. They were in touch with Britain for delivery of top-secret tank named Chieftains. After series of trials, Israel was ready to strike a deal. However, citing political considerations, Britain backed away. The decision startled Israel. The irony is that Soviet Union continued to supply arms to Syria and Egypt. Israel does not wanted to be in similar precarious position again and realized that they must lessen their dependency on others. After few years, they came up with an indigenous produced tank known as Merkeva Mark I. Three years after they were rolled out, the tank demonstrated their striking capabilities in the First Lebanon war. The astonishing fact is that the fourth generation tank Merkava Mark IV is considered as one of five deadliest tanks along with Russia’s T40 and USA’s M1 Abrams. Israel planted some amazing features in these tanks, hitherto unseen in other tanks. The tank had automatic tracking system combined with video camera. This enabled gunner to lock target before launching the shell. The latest tank Merkava 4 is considered a smart tank, with dozens of sensors, 360-degree camera and task computer. This enables a crew to stay inside and the commander can see what is happening exactly outside, such as approaching threats. The tank crew also have satellite-guided weapons. One such innovative weapon is Kalanit. The tank crew is equipped with the ability to choose different modes for detonating this weapon. This can detonate on impact like for fortified structure or vehicle. They can be also programmed to stop mid-air over a terror squad, and can be exploded with multiple different charges, scattering thousands of deadly fragments. Another groundbreaking work in this field is development of active protection system for tank. The system known as Trophy intercept and neutralize incoming threats such as anti-guided missiles. The IDF used Trophy first time in combat in 2012 against Hamas in the Gaza strips. It has been so successful that US Army had awarded a contract to shield its Abrams tank Israel was in complete panic and paralyzed when Iraq had been firing Scuds during the Gulf War. The experience was traumatic. However, the threat is from not only nations, but non-state actors like terrorist groups. They are involved in countess suicide bombings. Israel has been harassed and threatened by two notorious terrorist organizations namely Hamas and Hezbollah. There are times, when they were firing more than 100 rockets per day into Israel. To add to the woes, the range of the rockets was increasing in every two years. To counter the obscure threats, Israel pushed for missile and rocket defense system as top agenda, in collaboration with an US company. A system called Iron Dome was built to intercept short-range rockets. It has three components- an interceptor for intercepting incoming enemy rockets, a radar for detecting the launch of rockets from enemy territory and battle management system with advance algorithms, which can predict rocket’s trajectory and determine where it is going to land, in few seconds after launch. Iron Dome was considered a game changer in one of the IDF operation at Gaza. It has more than 90% percent success rate. It took only three years to design and manufacture Iron Dome. Next in the production line was Arrow, which is a system for incepting ballistic missiles. The third in the line was David’s sling, which intercept medium and long-range rockets. It would intercept rockets that are too big for Iron Dome but not big enough for Arrows. Israel became the first country to deploy missile defense system even before the USA. However, other countries like USA, Japan and South Korea have invested in missile defense system but none can boast of possessing multitier architecture with different systems. During the Yom Kippur war, bellicose and invading armies of Egyptian and Syrian forces threatened Israel. The events had completely taken Israel by surprise. Its then they realized the importance of satellite photography, as a vital tool for providing warning about the movement of enemy troops. They sought USA help for satellite information. The USA provided inconclusive information and that too not real time in nature. In other words, the USA was unable to retrieve imagery and related information about the conflict while it was underway. Moreover, the policy followed for sharing information with Israel was inconsistent. The Israel became skeptical about USA motive. It cannot rely on USA for information that is so vital for its survival. The endless dependency on USA was not going down well with Israel. Its then they conceptualized, designed, developed and ultimately kick start their own satellite program. In 1988, a satellite named Ofek-I was launched which culminated Israel into an exclusive club of nations with independent satellite launching capabilities. The other countries includes USA, Russia, UK, France, Japan, China and India. They realized the benefit in few years, during the Gulf War. Iraq was firing Scud missile into Israel. The satellite helped in locating missile launcher and thus warned civilian of the impending attack. In the later years, Israel started developing state-of-the-art satellites. They became satellite superpower and specialized in manufacturing and putting in orbit mini satellites. The development caught world’s attention. The countries were either entering into strategic partnership with Israel or purchasing satellites. The impressive client list includes France, Italy, Singapore and India. In a nuclear reactor, there are big steel machines that are used to enrich uranium. If a nation wants a nuclear weapon, it has to enrich uranium. These steel machines are called centrifuges. Israel’s enemy Iran experienced something mysterious in 2009. One after another, centrifuges started malfunctioning. Before Iran finally was able to figure out the reason, the series of events caused extensive damage to Iran’s nuclear program. More than 10% percent of its centrifuges were damaged and later decommissioned. A malicious computer worm called Stuxnet triggered the damage. The worm targeted the device that controls the speed of the centrifuge motors. It increased and decreased the speed in such a way that it lead to eventual breakdown of the machinery. This way Israel managed to attack Iran without firing a single bullet. Struxnet was not just a virus but it was a weapon in literal sense that dictated new rules of modern warfare. The nation however has given rise to a booming cybersecurity industry and they figure among top five nations. Currently, there are more than 4000 cybersecurity companies in Israel. Israel always was militarily superior compared to its enemy. However, during Yom Kippur war, it felt a sense of vulnerability. It then realized that apart from militarily superiority, it also require a technological edge. Israel as a nation is a story that has surprised the world. How weak and ancient people returned to their homeland and despite odds survived and prospered. They are anathema to their neighboring countries which put them in a very imperil position. However, they may be engaged with different countries and group at different point of times but they know that their fait accompli is going to remain unchanged. The book does not simply narrates about the technology that has bought Israel success on the battlefield but also about people and culture of innovation, that has made it possible. Post World War II, if the Jews were defined as victims than in the present, they are known more for their brilliance. Israel is the country where USB port, pen drive, Microsoft Windows, first communication router and Anti-virus were developed. They have countless such achievements to their credit. In NASDAQ, Israel have second most largest registered companies , even more than combined total of Japan, Germany, South Korea, France and United Kingdom. Israelis are now renowned for being adept and dexterous in jobs, which require a very incisive brain. The author had brilliantly and deftly summarizes Israel’s journey to a military superpower. The panoply of stories makes the book an interesting read.

A book that makes you understand how one of the powerful defense tech in the world developed. Israeli chutzpah is an amazing thing to learn and how it worked towards Israel's development.

This book is well structured. It uses one particular weapon technology for each chapter. It then outlines the early stages in the development of the technology and what forced its development. It then builds out the detail and brings the reader to the present day. A good primer on the Israel's military technology. (I note that some reviewer questioned why the authors had not acknowledged the harm done by weapons. This seems an odd thing to say as every book has a purpose. The purpose of this book is to outline the development of indigenous military technologies in Israel. I am sure there are other very good books which have the aim of exploring the downside of arms production by Israel. Reviewers should evaluate books on whether they achieve their stated purpose - not on some political filter.