Israeli official says Gaza conflict was ‘first robotics war’

JERUSALEM — After two years of combat operations in Gaza, a senior Israeli official recounted the technological leaps in ground combat and called the conflict nothing less than the “first robotics war.”

“In this conflict, we have mobilized our entire defense ecosystem and deployed tens of thousands of autonomous systems across the battlefield — from drone swarms to agile ground robotics distributed across vast areas,” said Yaron Sarig, Head of the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD) Directorate of Defense Research & Development (DDR&D)’s AI and Autonomy program.

Sarig was speaking at the second annual Defense Tech Week in Israel which took place at Tel Aviv University earlier this month.

Though Israel has seen technological success in a number of domains during the recent conflict, from air defense to blending types of robotics, AI, and autonomous systems, Sarig spoke specifically about the development of ground robotics in a talk titled “Robotics and AI: From Theory to the Battlefield.”

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He said that two decades of Israel’s development of these technologies enabled them to be put to use in the last two years. During his presentation, he showed a video of six-wheeled unmanned ground vehicle driving along a path, as well as what appeared to be a column of D-9 armored bulldozers and M113 armored personnel carriers, two platforms that Israel have used as unmanned systems in the recent war.

Sarig spoke about a number of technologies that have been combined, such as enabling robots and autonomous systems to work in concert as a group of machines. Several unmanned M113s, for instance, were shown opening a route. Smaller UGVs delivered logistics. Sarig said the systems could work in GPS-denied environments and used a number of new sensors. 

“We see these assets operating by almost every unit,” he said.

Such ubiquitous use of robotics is aided by the reams of data Israel’s been able to collect about their operations, from “tens of thousands of hours” of flying drone operations to “thousands of hours” of ground maneuver robotics data.

At the same conference, Israel’s Brig. Gen. Oren Giber, the commander general of MANTAK, the Merkava and Armored Vehicle Directorate in the Ministry of Defense, also discussed new technologies for maneuvering forces.

In his mind, the future of ground combat will include tailored robotic systems working alongside armored vehicles. For instance, instead of several main battle tanks, using two types of vehicles that work as a team, with a leader vehicle and a second vehicle. “We can then introduce drones as part of their weapon systems and UGVs as part of the overall concept.” 

During his presentation, he showed a video of tanks approaching a position in 2025 and another video set in a hypothetical 2032 showing two vehicles with a two robotic UGV wingmen, where the UGVs are sent into combat first networked with their parent vehicles. The UGVs can then launch small drones and conduct combat.

The IDF appears to be pushing robotics further, as a new program of AI and Autonomy was declared last year by the ministry, Sarig said. It will be focused on “force build up efforts to improve the IDF Multi-Domain operational gain.” 

Earlier this week, the IDF’s C4I and Cyber Defense Directorate announced a new division devoted to AI named “Bina,” Hebrew for “intelligence”). According to Israeli outlet Ynet, the division, which will consolidate several disparate AI-focused initiatives already in existence, will be lead by a brigadier general.

Sarig argued that “we are only at the beginning of this revolution.” He noted that “in the coming years, driven by operational necessity, we will significantly expand our robotic capabilities. Robotics serves as a critical bridge to the world of AI, which, looking forward, will be integrated into every weapon system and into the operational capability of every soldier.”