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The Israel Defence Forces is to establish a new branch dedicated to artificial intelligence and unmanned systems as Israel seeks to make autonomous warfare a central part of its military strategy.
The new “unmanned systems and artificial intelligence” branch is expected to be up and running by early December, IDF chief of staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir said.
The branch will oversee the development and deployment of robotic systems across the air, land and maritime domains, including technologies capable of operating alongside soldiers or carrying out missions independently.
“The battlefield is changing at a dizzying pace, and we are changing with it,” Zamir said at a Navy officers’ graduation ceremony.
“We understand that the future includes unmanned systems, robotics, drones and widespread use of artificial intelligence.”
Zamir said the technology would allow the military to increase its operational capabilities while reducing the risks faced by soldiers.
“The capabilities that unmanned systems will provide will enable them to operate alongside manned combat teams or in independent missions,” he said.
“They will increase operational activity on the battlefield and save human lives.”
The move follows the establishment by the defence ministry in January 2025 of its “AI and autonomy administration” hub, which brings together military technology units, researchers, defence companies and Israeli startups to develop autonomous systems.
The ministry has described the Gaza war as the world’s first “robotics war”, with tens of thousands of autonomous systems already deployed on the battlefield, including drone swarms and ground-based robotics.
The new IDF branch will expand the use of the technology beyond drones, with the military developing autonomous capabilities for operations on land, in the air and at sea.
The Navy is also expected to incorporate autonomous systems both above and below the water.
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