Israel’s defense technology ecosystem risks prioritizing flashy demonstrations over deployable battlefield capabilities unless startups adopt a broader, system level approach, Col. (res.) Merav Davidovits said in an interview on The Jerusalem Post’s Defense & Tech podcast.
Davidovits, a former senior officer with 25 years of experience in elite Israel Air Force units who now works in venture capital and startups, argued that many defense tech companies focus too heavily on technological novelty while underestimating operational realities. Clean demos and impressive videos, she said, often fail to reflect the messy, complex conditions of real combat environments.
What you need for successful innovations in defense
According to Davidovits, successful defense innovation depends on understanding operational gaps rather than building solutions based solely on what customers initially request. Startups must maintain direct contact with end users, particularly warfighters, to understand how systems will be operated, maintained, and integrated into existing platforms. Technology, she stressed, is only one component of a viable solution.
She also highlighted the need for long term planning, including logistics, training, maintenance, risk mitigation, and scalability. Startups that cannot articulate lifecycle planning or openly address risks are unlikely to move from prototype to deployment. “A demo is only the beginning,” she said, warning that failure to think from A to Z often pushes companies into what is known as the defense sector’s “valley of death.”
Davidovits pointed to Israel’s strength as a real world testbed for innovation but cautioned that domestic validation alone is insufficient for business sustainability. Companies seeking to operate internationally must adapt to different regulatory, environmental, and operational conditions and consider dual use applications beyond the military sphere.
She also noted that while attention often centers on artificial intelligence, autonomy, and drones, less visible areas such as battlefield medical information systems and production technologies remain underinvested despite their operational importance.
Ultimately, Davidovits emphasized leadership over technology as the defining factor in success. Strong leadership, she said, enables teams to learn from failure, manage ego, and build systems that are usable, scalable, and ready for real world deployment.