The commander stated that Artificial Intelligence was used. The attacks were carried out with the swarm technology in the intense 11-day conflict between Tel Aviv and Hamas.
M. said the drone flocks – capable of communicating with one another,
pinpointing targets and even directing airstrikes – were deployed over Gaza and
used to look out for rocket launch sites and inform Israeli Air Force aircraft
or ground-based forces in Israel to attack them.
In one use of artificial intelligence, the Israeli military deployed
small flocks of quadcopter drones over the southern Gaza Strip. Each device was
monitoring a specific patch of land. According to The Times of Israel, when a
rocket or mortar launch was detected, other armed aircraft or ground-based
units attacked the source of the fire.
“We conducted more than 30 sorties with the drone swarms, which
collected precise intelligence and assisted other drones to carry out attacks
on the targets,” M. added.
IDF cooperated with Elbit Systems – a major Israeli defence electronics
company and drone maker.
Along with Israel, the United States, China, Russia, the UK, Italy, Turkey
and Japan are known to be working on either drone swarm technology.
The military’s use of drones in this way was initially kept classified
during the fighting, but has since been permitted to be published in part.
