August 5, 2026
When Lockheed Martin Came to Israel: Reflecting on a Day We Won’t Forget
We had the honor of hosting a senior engineering team from Lockheed Martin for a full day immersed in Israel’s defense-tech ecosystem.
Lockheed Martin has spent decades defining what’s possible in aerospace and defense engineering. When the opportunity came to organize a demo day for them in Israel, in coordination with Lockheed Martin Israel, we understood the weight of that trust, and we built a day worthy of it.
A Day of Innovation
We had the privilege of showcasing 10 Israeli defense startups we felt captured the breadth of innovation coming out of this ecosystem, spanning electronic warfare, battlefield dominance, autonomy, and force protection. The lineup included Tenna Systems, Ion Flux, Invisig, BEX Robotics, Resight, SharkSense, ASIO, Airwayz, R2 Wireless, and Insignito.
Each company presented and demonstrated technology that has been shaped and proven in real operational conditions, not in a lab, but in the field. Watching the Lockheed Martin team engage directly with these founders, asking sharp questions and digging into the details, was a reminder of why we do this work.
An Evening at Startup Nation Central
The day closed with a public event at Startup Nation Central in Tel Aviv, where over 100 startup representatives came together to meet the Lockheed team, and to hear directly from them. The evening included a panel discussion where the team spoke candidly about where they see the defense landscape heading, and an open Q&A where attendees brought their most pressing questions on the shifts reshaping the industry.
It was on that stage that the team spoke about the day, and about CET Sandbox’s role in making it happen. Having one of the most respected engineering teams in aerospace and defense speak to what our community has built was a moment we’ll carry with us.
Why This Matters
This mattered because it gave the Lockheed Martin team a chance to see, firsthand, the technology we’re building to meet the demands of a battlefield that keeps changing its terms. They saw an ecosystem that innovates under fire, shaped by a threat environment few nations have ever faced. And they heard directly from the founders and operators translating that reality into fielded capability.
That kind of exchange matters. It means the men and women on the front lines have a direct line to the team building the arsenal behind our greatest ally.
We’re proud of this day. And we’re just getting started.
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What Our Participants Have to Say About the Event
“Once again, CET put together a great, highly relevant event. They are extremely well connected across both the U.S. and Israeli defense ecosystems and did an excellent job matching the delegation’s areas of interest with the right startups and technologies. Thank you for the opportunity to be part of it!”
“We were honored to participate in CET Sandbox event, which hosted the by a U.S. Prims leadership team, led by Chief Engineer Paul , and demonstrate Airwayz's Overwatch capabilities. The visit provided a valuable opportunity to exchange operational insights from the battlefield, discuss the evolving challenges of autonomous airspace operations, and explore potential areas for future collaboration. We sincerely appreciate their visit and the open, engaging discussions, and looking forward for next steps ahead.”
“We were invited by the CET sandbox team to present and demonstrate our off-grid Hydrogen Power technology for U.S. Prime under field conditions on a IDF base. little did we realize that the site was a firebase on the Gaza frontline that was the scene of Golani brigade heroism through the blood drenched battle that followed the October 7th attack. presenting there made it different for me. The soldiers walking around the base were in fact our future clients, and we're working for them. The SW team, Theadore and Paul were very attentive and the Demo was successful. What differs us from all the other companies presenting that day is that we can energize all of them. We are solving tomorrows problem, energy logistics. We ran our 4x4 POC for the 10 minutes we had, and outlined the technology and possible implementations. Since I still had some reaction time, I kept driving inside the compound witch attracted a lot of enthusiasm from the soldiers and officers alike, with many suggestions on practical uses (and a few offers to buy the car...). I must state that we were in very good company, the other companies that showcased were all top tier! And we were honored to be in such a distinguished group. Mr David Yahid co-ordinated the day with grace under scorching 35C conditions, and kept everybody hydrated and smiling ! Thanks for the opportunity”
“Technology Demo Day was a great opportunity to demonstrate Insignito’s technology in a real-world environment and engage directly with the U.S. Primes team. We really appreciated the technical depth of the discussions, the thoughtful questions, and the opportunity to receive direct feedback from such an experienced team. The event was well organized and brought together an impressive group of companies and technologies. For us, it was a valuable opportunity to showcase our capabilities, exchange ideas, and explore where our technology could create value in future applications. Thank you to everyone involved in making it happen.”
