As drone warfare reshapes the modern battlefield, the Givati Brigade Association (GBA) is positioning itself at the cutting edge of Israel’s defense innovation with the launch of the Givati Drone Center, a first-of-its-kind hub built to turn battlefield lessons into next-generation technology, faster.
“This initiative is about giving our soldiers better eyes in the sky, faster operational response, and smarter battlefield tools,” said Itzhak Levit, Chairman of the Givati Brigade Association. “Most importantly, it is about saving lives.”
For Levit, the Center represents more than a training facility, it’s a statement about where Israel’s defense edge will come from next. Built on direct input from active-duty and reserve field commanders, including leaders of drone units, the Center was designed to close the gap between what soldiers need on the ground and how quickly that need can be turned into real capability.
A Hub Built for Speed and Innovation
Rather than separating training, maintenance, and technology development, as is traditional across Israel’s defense ecosystem, the Givati Drone Center brings them together under one roof. That integration is the innovation: soldiers train, engineers build, and problems get solved in the same space, without the delays that typically slow down military technology development.
“The Givati Drone Center is not just a school, and not just an academy, it’s a top gun, first of its kind, and it shows just how much the Association cares about the future of the country,” said Jessica Zandani, a Major Director of the Academy. “It doesn’t just teach about today; it reminds soldiers of yesterday and of the years before, so that we never make the same mistakes again.”
Zandani sees the Center as a model for how Israel’s defense sector can innovate going forward, by keeping the people closest to the fight involved in building the tools. “It allows soldiers to learn not just engineering, maintenance, and flight with aeronautics, but the ability to learn not just from a classroom, but from actual experience in the field. It’s a fully comprehensive course that has never been done before.”
To power this model, GBA partnered with StemUp, a non-profit organization bringing training expertise and program design capability not found elsewhere in the field, helping ensure the Center’s innovation pipeline is backed by serious educational infrastructure.
Where Battlefield Needs Become Battlefield Solutions
The Center’s five core components form a closed loop of innovation, each one designed to shorten the distance between a problem in the field and a solution in soldiers’ hands:
- Specialized Training Programs
- Dedicated Drone Maintenance Laboratory
- Logistics and 3D Printing for Drone Enhancement
- Advanced Simulator Training
- Central Knowledge and Data Repository
The Logistics and 3D Printing capability alone marks a significant shift, giving units the ability to adapt and enhance drone hardware on demand rather than waiting on lengthy procurement cycles, a change Levit and Zandani both point to as central to the Center’s mission.
A Legacy of Leading, Now Applied to Technology
The Givati Drone Center extends a mission the Association has carried since 1985, when it was founded by Givati veterans of Israel’s 1948 War of Independence under Major General Itzhak Pundak z"l. What began as an effort to honor the fallen and preserve Givati’s legacy, including the monuments across the Negev and the Givati Brigade Museum, now includes shaping the technological future of the soldiers who follow them.
Under Chairman Itzhak Levit and Major Director Jessica Zandani, the Association is signaling that Israel’s next defense breakthroughs may come not from traditional procurement channels, but from the people who understand the battlefield best.