IAI (Israel Aircraft Industry) and Invoytec to
produce Israeli-developed ventilators in missile production plant.
From JPost, By ANNA AHRONHEIM MARCH 31, 2020
The famed General
Staff Reconnaissance Unit, or Unit 269, more commonly known as Sayeret Matkal,
is helping with medical logistics in the IDF’s fight against the coronavirus,
The Jerusalem Post has learned. Its commandos have been counting the number of
respirators in hospitals and healthcare facilities throughout Israel. The elite
unit is more accustomed to gathering field intelligence deep behind enemy
lines, carrying out counter-terrorism operations and rescuing hostages. It is
now playing a key role in the fight against COVID-19.
Health Ministry
director-general Moshe Bar Siman Tov last week said Israel has 2,864 available
ventilators, including some owned by the IDF. But some reports said the Health
Ministry does not know the true number of ventilators in the country.
“The State of Israel
must develop independent capabilities in everything related to dealing with the
COVID-19 virus pandemic,” Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said Tuesday. “We
cannot remain dependent on procurement from other countries. We must develop
independent, advanced capabilities.”
Amid fears that the
number of patients needing respiratory assistance may exceed the number of
respirators available, the Defense Ministry, along with Israel Aerospace
Industries and Invoytec, will also begin producing Israeli-developed
ventilators.
“The Directorate of
Production and Procurement (DOPP) and the Directorate of Defense Research and
Development (DDR&D) at the Defense Ministry, in collaboration with medical
company Inovytec and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), have completed the
establishment of a first-of-its-kind production line for Ventway Sparrow
ventilators,” the ministry said in a statement.
The first 30
ventilators have been delivered to the Health Ministry.
With a lack of
ventilators in Israel and around the world, Inovytec and IAI established a
production line for ventilators within days. It was inaugurated on Tuesday at a
classified IAI missile production site.
“The best minds in
the field of missiles, aviation and space joined Inovytec, under the auspices
of the defense and health ministries, and together we have established in just
a few days an advanced production line for ventilators,” said Boaz Levy,
general manager and executive vice president of IAI Systems, Missiles and Space
Group.
The production line
was built in a short time to expand the production of Ventway Sparrow machines,
the ministry said.
“Turning a missile
production line into a ventilator assembly plant is a very complex task,”
DDR&D director Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Dani Gold said, adding that the ministry
is “continuing in the race around the clock to translate the extraordinary tech
capabilities of the defense establishment to the fight against corona.”
The Ventway Sparrow,
which provides life-sustaining respiratory care for patients with COVID-19 in
various conditions, is a state-of-the-art, turbine-powered, lightweight,
easy-to-use ventilator that enables effective invasive and noninvasive
mechanical ventilation for adults and children.
No comments:
Post a Comment