Unit 81
Israel Defence Forces Military Intelligence technology unit
| Unit 81
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Military intelligence technology unit of the Israel Defence Forces |
| Founded | 1948 |
| Location | Israel |
| Area served | Intelligence and operational research and development |
| Services | Software, hardware, mechanics, materials and cyber developments for intelligence and operational use |
| Key people | Reports, since 2012, to the commander of special operations (formerly to the head of Military Intelligence) |
Unit 81 is a technology unit of the Israel Defence Forces Intelligence Corps (Aman). Globes has described it as the IDF's research and development laboratory. The newspaper reported in April 2020 that the unit was set up in 1948, that until 2012 it was directly subordinate to the head of Military Intelligence, and that it has since reported to the commander of special operations.[1]
Role
According to the deputy commander quoted by Globes (identified only by rank and an initial), the unit undertakes “breakthrough developments in short to very short periods of time, in a range of fields, mainly software, hardware, mechanics, materials, and cyber, that serve intelligence and operational purposes”. The same account said that if suitable equipment can be bought off the shelf the unit will buy it, but that purchased systems often do not match the operational requirement.[1]
Ctech reported in 2021 that the unit was for years referred to generically as the Intelligence Corps's Technological Unit, and that the military censor later approved use of its official name, Unit 81. The same report said many of its officers are graduates of the Talpiot programme.[2]
Public reporting
The unit is normally secret. Globes reported that, during the COVID-19 emergency in 2020, the IDF allowed a rare public account of some of its work, including efforts to adapt home breathing devices and to fit partitions in Magen David Adom ambulances.[1]
Ctech has compared the unit's alumni network in Israeli high technology with that of the better-known signals-intelligence unit Unit 8200. It reported that a mapping of veterans who served between 2003 and 2010 found that about 100 had founded 50 companies. The article named Brig. Gen. (ret.) Avner Paz Tzuk as commander of the unit from 2007 to 2010.[2]
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Uri Berkovitz, Hush-hush IDF intel unit takes on Covid-19, Globes, 20 April 2020, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sophie Shulman, Unit 81: The elite military unit that caused a big bang in the Israeli tech scene, Ctech (Calcalist), 8 January 2021, accessed 11 November 2026.