JERSUALEM — The Israel Defense Forces are creating a new branch, focused unmanned systems and artificial intelligence, according to Israeli military Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir.
“The battlefield is changing at a dizzying pace, and we are changing with it,” Zamir said Wednesday at a graduation ceremony of the IDF’s 153rd Naval Officers Course. “We understand that the future includes unmanned systems, robotics, drones, and the extensive use of artificial intelligence.”
To that end, he said, Israel has “finalized the establishment of a new branch of the IDF — a historic development: the Unmanned Systems and Artificial Intelligence Branch, which will be responsible for this rapidly developing field. The vision will soon become reality.” The IDF expects the new branch to be fully inaugurated by early December.
Zamir has been chief of staff since March 2025. Prior to the appointment, he was Director General at the Israeli Ministry of Defense, where he played a key role after the Oct. 7 attack in making sure Israel remained well supplied during the war, and investing in long-term procurement. The move to establish a new branch is aimed at harnessing together technologies in various domains of land, air and sea.
“The capabilities provided by unmanned systems will operate alongside manned teams or carry out independent missions,” Zamir said. “They will increase operational activity on the battlefield and save lives. This is a once-in-a-generation transformation, and the IDF intends to be a global leader in it.”
Yaakov Katz, author of The Weapon Wizards: How Israel Became a High-Tech Military Superpower and a fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, told Breaking Defense that “the decision to establish this new branch reflects a growing understanding within the IDF that robotics, autonomous vehicles and AI-powered systems are changing modern warfare and even determine the outcome of a battle.”
“As we see more swarms of drones and other autonomous munitions on the battlefield, the ability to process vast amounts of data at unprecedented speed is becoming increasingly critical,” he said. “At the same time, these technologies can give militaries new capabilities while also helping save lives in ways that were simply not possible in the past.”
Because he was at a naval ceremony, Zamir made sure to play to his audience, noting, “The Israeli Navy will also benefit from its capabilities as it integrates advanced and autonomous systems above and below the surface of the sea.”
He also discussed the IDF’s Hoshen multi-year plan, which is supposed to begin in the coming years.
“We have placed an emphasis on the maritime arena — an important and essential focus for ensuring our military superiority at sea for years to come,” he said. He also noted the navy recently took delivery of the INS Drakon, the latest Israeli submarine to arrive from Germany.
Israel has been advancing new technologies on the battlefield for years. Former Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi, who ended his term in January 2023, was a major champion of digitization and modernization of technology for the army. The Israeli military noted that during his time in office “the IDF introduced multiple technological advancements, including the naval C-Dome Aerial Defense System, the Sa’ar 6-class corvette and the Skylark 3 UAV.”
At the time the IDF was exploring a number of new multi-dimensional methods of fighting, including creating new units. It was also investing in more unmanned systems, such as drones and ground robots. The military also championed a more lethal “Momentum” plan that was supposed to take advantage of technological advances.
However, after the Oct. 7 attack, some of this focus on high-tech was critiqued, as Israel’s ground forces appeared unprepared for a large-scale attack by mostly lightly armed militants.
The shift to focus on AI and unmanned systems in 2026 comes in the context of a wider push in Israeli defense technology toward the unmanned realm. For instance, Elbit Systems unveiled a what it called “Fuse” on Wednesday, combining a number of “AI-driven autonomous combat systems.” It says these enable “centralized real-time coordination of large numbers of autonomous aerial and ground systems.”
Israel’s Ministry of Finance also unveiled new data on Israel’s tech sector on Monday. It said that in “the field of artificial intelligence, Israel continues to strengthen its position as a global technological powerhouse, ranking 3rd in the world in AI commercialization, 6th in development, and 7th in research (out of 83 countries).” It said that “the high-tech sector continues to serve as the engine of the economy, with a 53.6 [percent] increase in capital raised (in the first half of 2026 compared with the first half of 2025).”