After Hamas, a Palestinian militant organization that rules Gaza attacked Israeli border communities early on Saturday, Israel proclaimed a state of war. In Gaza, more than 100,000 people have been displaced due to Israel’s ongoing response to a Hamas offensive.
If the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which is defending Israeli airspace, had not deployed its “Iron Dome” equipment, the number of victims may have been substantially greater.
Iron Dome System of Israel
On Saturday, Hamas launched at least 3,000 missiles toward Israel, mainly from the Gaza Strip. According to the IDF, the Iron Dome air defense system intercepted about 90% of the rockets fired; therefore, there was little to no damage.
The primary purpose of the Iron Dome, which employs radar technology, was to stop Israeli close-range rocket and mortar attacks. It uses predictive analytics and machine learning to identify approaching missiles from up to 70 kilometers away, calculating the trajectory and location of impact using speed, weather, and size data.
After analyzing the data, the control center fires a counter-missile to destroy the opposing rocket. The system decides not to counter if the enemy rocket is going for an unpopulated area and there is little to no damage anticipated.
What Israel has done to incorporate AI into its military
The Israeli Defense Forces use AI to streamline decision-making, organize logistics during combat, and choose targets more quickly. They select targets for airstrikes using AI recommendations that analyze data.
Following this, raids and logistics are quickly put together using a different AI program dubbed “Fire Factory,” which analyzes target data to assign targets to fighter jets and military drones and compute ammunition loads. It also creates a schedule, saving a ton of time and lives.
Human operators oversee and, if necessary, correct all AI recommendations. According to research, AI can help reduce military and civilian losses in modern combat.
Thousands of hours of video were used to train this AI system to recognize individuals and things. According to Bloomberg, it decodes vast drone footage, satellite imagery, electrical signals, and online interactions.
Israel has employed AI software in 2021 to locate rocket launchers and send out drone swarms. Additionally, they analyze satellite imagery using AI. Using artificial intelligence, the IDF raided weapons shipments in Syria and Lebanon headed for Hezbollah and other violent groups supported by Iran.
“What used to take hours now takes minutes, with a few more minutes for human review,” said Col Uri, who heads the army’s digital transformation unit, to Bloomberg.
Face-recognition technology is another tool Israel employs to oppress Palestinians. According to The Washington Post, one former soldier referred to the army’s collection of photographs as the army’s “Facebook for Palestinians” in secret.
The “Blue Wolf” enterprise has been running for over two years. Israel is making an effort with this to combat terrorism.
What is the source of funding?
Returning to the Iron Dome, it was initially created without the assistance of the US, but beginning in 2011, they began to support the initiative financially. Now, the US manufactures some of the missiles. America is Israel’s strongest ally. According to the agreement between the two partners, the US would give $38 billion in support overall from 2019 to 2028.
According to the director of Israel’s defense ministry, the country intends to enhance autonomous warfare and combat decision-making to become an AI “superpower.” Eyal Zamir, a retired army general, stated at the Herzliya Conference, an annual international security gathering, “There are some who see AI as the next revolution in changing the face of warfare on the battlefield.”
The amount the nation intends to invest in this AI revolution still needs to be discovered.
