AI Warfare Comes to the Middle East as Israel Builds a New Autonomous Weapons Force

Key Points

1. Israel will inaugurate a dedicated military branch in early December to oversee AI and unmanned systems across three domains.
2. The structure elevates drones and robotics from specialized tools into a permanent, force-wide military capability.
3. The shift could reshape manpower, procurement and regional competition as autonomous warfare expands across the Middle East.

The latest

Israel has finalized plans for a dedicated military branch for artificial intelligence and unmanned systems, scheduled to open in early December, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said September 8. It will oversee robotic capabilities across air, land and sea, including systems accompanying manned combat units or conducting missions independently. Zamir said unmanned systems, robotics, drones and widespread AI use would define future warfare.

Details

• Institutional foundation: The Defense Ministry established an AI and Autonomy Administration in January 2025 to coordinate research, development and force-building across military technology units, defense companies, researchers and startups. The planned branch moves autonomy beyond specialist units and gives it a permanent IDF role.
• Wartime scale: By the end of 2025, Yaron Sarig, then head of the ministry’s AI and Autonomy Program Executive Office, said Israel had deployed tens of thousands of autonomous systems during the war, from drone swarms to ground robots. He described the conflict as the world’s “first robotics war.”
• Mixed-force concept: The model combines personnel and machines rather than eliminating soldiers from combat. Humans would make critical decisions while autonomous platforms supply persistence, speed and scale. One operator could eventually supervise several drones or robotic vehicles, helping manpower-constrained armies multiply each operator’s reach.
• Cost and missions: Smaller platforms can scout buildings, search tunnels, monitor borders, identify threats, carry supplies and enter contaminated or heavily defended areas without directly exposing soldiers. Unlike fighter jets, tanks and warships costing tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, cheaper systems can be fielded in greater numbers, with some losses absorbed and replacements deployed faster.
• Regional race: Iran and its allies have repeatedly used drones and missiles against Israel and Gulf targets, while the Houthis have shown how inexpensive systems can threaten infrastructure and sophisticated militaries. Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan agreed in August to deepen cooperation on unmanned systems, electronic warfare and AI, including joint exercises and defense technology production.
• Operational vulnerabilities: Autonomous warfare depends on communications, sensors, software and AI models that can malfunction, be jammed, spoofed or hacked. Systems in contested environments may lose contact with operators, making defined limits on decisions without human authorization central as machines assume more battlefield responsibility.

Background

Naval autonomy is a major part of the plan, covering systems above and below water. The Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb are pressure points involving drones, missiles, mines and unmanned vessels. Iran said it captured a U.S. autonomous submarine drone near Hormuz; the Pentagon confirmed losing the Anduril Dive-LD, built for mine countermeasures, seabed mapping and intelligence gathering.

What’s next

The branch is scheduled for inauguration in early December, when the IDF will begin placing autonomous air, ground and maritime capabilities within a dedicated military structure.