As the war and its scenes of devastation drag on in Ukraine, ​Israel has become a magnet for foreign security officials from dozens of countries.

“This has become a real pilgrimage,” a top Israeli military source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. “They are showing up in droves from countries in the West that had already written off the prospects of war as well as from countries with which Israel does not maintain diplomatic relations.” There is a pervasive sense of urgency to upgrade military capabilities as fast as possible, particularly in self-defense.

“Take Germany, for example,” the source said. “After the world wars and the trauma, it had reached a stage of near pacifism. Now they are waking up. Many countries in the West neglected their military power and relegated it to a marginal role in their set of priorities,” said the source. “Suddenly, they realize that the era of peace was an illusion. A world power invades its neighbor, deploys tremendous force, bombs cities and mows down civilians in numbers not seen in Europe since the world wars, and the sun keeps shining. It changes the perception and strategy in every sane place on the planet.”

But even as Israel calculates its expected defense exports bonanza (which has already broken records this year), like other states it is weighing the strategic implications of the war in Europe. For instance, does Russia’s resounding failure to translate its might into battlefield victories signal an end to ground maneuver warfare? Does aerial superiority depend less on a fleet of sophisticated bombers and fighters and more on basic tools such as UAVs? And what about the future of tank warfare on the 21st century battlefield?