What a week in D.C. hosting the CET Forum Last week we brought 20 leading Israeli defense-tech startups to Washington for three packed days of meetings, pitches, and panels with over 100 key players from across the U.S. Defense Industrial Base — including government agencies, major primes, and investors. Things kicked off at Lockheed Martin’s Vision Center, where the startups presented directly to their senior innovation team. The response was incredibly positive — real respect for the level of technical maturity and operational relevance these startups are already showing on the battlefield. The main forum included fireside chats with leaders from across the defense world, live startup demos, and panel discussions with top execs from primes, VCs, and federal offices. We had some amazing sessions — including former Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord talking procurement reform (moderated by Linda Lourie), a deep dive with Northrop Grumman’s newly named CTO Greg Simer and VP Corp. Dev. and Technology Bruce Stephenson, and sharp insights from David Rader Senior Advisor at the Office of Secretary of War and involved with OSD/DIU/DARPA . All this took place in the penthouse offices of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP thanks to our host Erik Berdy, overlooking the Potomac — complete with a Blue Angels flyby. On day three, we ran a hands-on design thinking session with officers from the 52nd Fighter Wing, 82nd Airborne Division, U.S. Army, and 101st Airborne Division, U.S. Army — each sharing real mission needs straight from the field. Startups responded in real time with ways their tech could solve those problems. Huge thanks to everyone who joined us. If you weren’t there this time — keep an eye out. We’re just getting started. A Special thanks to CET Sandbox Co-Founder and CEO Scott Cohen who put this all together, and the entire CET group team including Israel Y. Ganot, Neil Wallack, Barry Mannis, David Rokach, Shmaya Avieli and Ethan Roberts for helping make this event not just happen, but run like clockwork and a huge success!

The 2025 National Security Scorecard reveals troubling gaps in the U.S. defense industrial base. 🔹 Aviation & Maritime spending is down 🔹 Munitions, Missile Defense, & Nuclear capabilities are up 🔹 77% of Navy funds went to just 10 vendors 🔹 Nearly 50% of parts carry supply chain risk To compete with peer adversaries, the U.S. must reconnect procurement with battlefield realities.