62nd Israel Conference on Aerospace Sciences

The 62^nd annual Israel Conference on Aerospace Sciences (IACAS) took place last month in Tel Aviv and at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. It dealt with a variety of scientific aspects of aviation and space, including drones, cyber threats, rocket propulsion, and improving aircraft.

The conference was opened by a lecture from Major General (Res.) Amikam Norkin, who was the commander of Israel’s Air Force from 2017 to 2022, on the topic: “The Middle East as seen from the cockpit.”

Major General (Res.) Amikam Norkin

According to Major General (Res.) Norkin, “In the last decade, the reality relevant to Israel has changed in all circles – domestic, Middle Eastern, and global. Israel is currently in a changing sphere of threats by organizations and other actors and is also affected by the wide range of global events – relations between the U.S. and China, the war in Ukraine, and the fight against ISIS. Faced with this reality, we must decide which threats we should focus on and invest in. Will we focus on the terrorist threats in Gaza? On the danger in Lebanon? And maybe the Iranian threat? These are fateful and weighty decisions.”

Prof. Tal Shima, dean of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, with Dr. Judith Hocherman-Frommer, EVP R&D at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems

Over the two-day conference, more than 120 lectures were held on a variety of topics, including propulsion, navigation, autonomous systems, missile avoidance, engine-propeller coordination, flexible wings, computational learning in the world of aviation, hypersonic aviation, and developments in wind tunnels. Numerous renowned lecturers from leading institutions around the world participated in the conference.

The second day of the conference, which took place at the Technion, was opened by Professor Tal Shima, dean of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering. He said that “the conference brings together the best experts in academia and industry, in Israel and abroad, and is a platform for promoting knowledge and joint projects. This year we invited some 100 high school students to the conference, and we hope that many of them will come to study at the Technion and lead the world of Israeli aeronautics in the future.” He then thanked the conference organizers, the Chairman of the organizing committee, Brigadier General Shlomi Konforty, Head of Materiel Directorate at the Israeli Air Force, and the Chairman of the program committee, Technion Professor Beni Cukurel.

Prof. Thomas Corke from the University of Notre Dame

The opening lecture on the second day was given by Dr. Judith Hocherman-Frommer, who holds three degrees from the Technion, and who is the current executive vice president for Research and Development at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. She talked about the challenges facing Israel and Rafael in particular. She also addressed the 100 high school students in attendance, and said that “aeronautics is an amazing interdisciplinary field that is changing the world, and we invite you to join this community.” When asked by an audience member when the pilot’s course will no longer be needed, she replied, “unmanned vehicles will continue to improve and replace pilots in many and varied tasks, but they will not be able to replace the human pilot completely, certainly not in the near future.”

Brigadier General Shlomi Konforty, Head of Materiel Directorate at the Israeli Air Force

The IACAS Conference is an annual event that brings together the aeronautics and space community in Israel and leading experts from abroad. The conference is supported by the Technion, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the Israel Aerospace Industry, Elbit Systems, and Lockheed Martin.