\u201cThere are also errors, and the wisdom lies in training and preparing both the operator and the machine to deal with them,\u201d said Col. (res.) Yaron Sherig, head of the Defense Ministry\u2019s AI and Autonomy Directorate at MAFAT, in an interview with Maariv last week.<\/p>\n
The challenge facing the AI and Autonomy Directorate goes beyond developing machines and robots. It is focused on the ability to deliver these capabilities at an industrial pace to the operational edge. As preparations for a multi-front war are already underway, development time has become a critical resource.<\/p>\n
To preserve the technological gap with the enemy, the directorate has enlisted dozens of startup companies, implementing the strategy of the Defense Ministry\u2019s Director General, and former deputy IDF chief of staff, Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram, summarized as \u201cAn accelerating work pace, aimed at ensuring that every sophisticated algorithm is quickly transformed into a tool in the hands of the fighter in the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a tower building in Gush Dan, the new directorate and digital brain of the defense establishment are expanding, with an office that feels like an advanced bunker suspended between sky and ground.<\/p>\n
Security measures in the ministry may be seen in the form of chains of entry authorizations, phones left outside, and fingerprint scanners guarding armored doors, even within the workspaces.<\/p>\n
AMIR BARAM, Director General of the Israel Defense Ministry attends the signing of a housing framework agreement at Jerusalem City Hall in Jerusalem, December 15, 2025. (credit: CHAIM GOLDBERG\/FLASH90)Hi-tech in security zones<\/p>\n
In the workspaces of the Defense Ministry\u2019s AI and Autonomy Directorate, developers of different ages sit side by side in the rooms, some serving as professional knowledge hubs. Alongside them are usually fighters and officers, some arriving directly from the field or from headquarters to advance development processes, learn, or provide real-time feedback on products.<\/p>\n
At the head of the directorate, established in December 2024, is Sherig, 44, married and a father of three, an electrical and physics engineer.<\/p>\n
Sherig began his service in Military Intelligence and spent most of his military career at MAFAT in the Defense Ministry.<\/p>\n
Under him are around 100 employees, the vast majority engineers and researchers, including PhD holders. Some have operational backgrounds to help advance field implementation.<\/p>\n
The directorate brings together a wide range of expertise: AI<\/a>, data engineering, robotics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, software, communications, physics, operations, and integration. To accelerate processes, the directorate maintains ongoing ties with dozens of Israeli startups, mainly in robotics, some directly through tenders and others via open calls.<\/p>\n Sherig pointed to one of the PhDs responsible for developing operational applications, some of which have already saved lives and helped identify terrorists in destroyed terrain against all odds. \u201cWhat are you doing here, when outside you could earn a much higher salary?\u201d he was asked.<\/p>\n He answered clearly, \u201cThat\u2019s a question I answered a long time ago. I save lives. Is there anything more important than that? I\u2019m protecting my brother-in-law, who is fighting in the Gaza Strip. My friends analyze stock market trends, what\u2019s better? I have a huge interest in what I do here every day. Look who\u2019s standing outside to see what we developed.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the developers, some of the IDF\u2019s maneuvering platforms already have AI components embedded in them, upgrading force protection and attack capabilities in real time.<\/p>\n One of the lead application developers was asked what the greatest compliment he had received from fighters in the Gaza Strip was. As an answer, he noted,\u00a0 \u201cXs. A lot of Xs.\u201d<\/p>\n He meant that the systems, innovative applications, and robots he and his colleagues at MAFAT are developing are making IDF fighters and their weapons more precise, faster, and deadlier than ever before. When they say \u201cXs,\u201d they are referring to dead terrorists on the battlefield, in large numbers and at a high pace.<\/p>\n Two years’ worth of combat data fuels modern warfare development<\/p>\n The developers\u2019 playground at the directorate long ago extended beyond lines of code. Computer screens or gadgets currently in the hands of maneuvering units, augmented reality glasses, smart controllers, and combat tablets, are only the visible tip. The real resource, the fuel of the development race and modern warfare, is the data accumulated over more than two years of fighting.<\/p>\n The available data covers from open and built terrain configurations to enemy behavior patterns, from which AI distills lessons and insights at record speed. These are not just lines of software; they are answers to the most complex battlefield questions, turning abstract ideas into operational advantage.<\/p>\n During the interview, Sherig recalled an inspiring conversation he had with his developers, not all of whom had previously experienced the sights of combat or the urgency of creating solutions from nothing. \u201cImagine this stands in the Gaza Strip, insane traffic, noise, and filth. Inside this chaos, you need to identify the abnormal figure, the terrorist<\/a>, or the emerging threat. This task becomes far more complex when it involves a maneuvering force in Gaza\u2019s streets,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In Sherig\u2019s view, APCs and tanks generate enormous acoustic signatures and ground-shaking noise, making it difficult for sensors and drone operators to detect low-resolution details. This is where the machine comes in. It learns what a normal environment looks like, tags areas of interest, and filters out irrelevant \u201cnoise\u201d for the operator, allowing them to see the enemy even when fully blended into the environment during a maneuver.<\/p>\n The machine\u2019s role is to locate threats or indicators of threats where the human eye would struggle. \u201cWe received indications of a terrorist in the area, high-quality, focused intelligence, but in an environment where a regular person would have no chance of detecting movement,\u201d Sherig explained. While the fighter scans the horizon, AI has already marked the targets. The system does not just scan; it sharpens what is truly relevant for the end user, identifies suspects, and distinguishes them from routine events.<\/p>\n The machine is not just an observation tool; it is a partner that focuses the fighter\u2019s attention precisely on the point where the threat is hiding, even before the force enters an ambush.<\/p>\n As an example, Sherig talked about a force securing a heavy engineering team in the Strip, a routine event that seems simple on the surface but contains many complexities due to the changing environment and destruction. \u201cWe need to give them tools that help warn of threats in the area,\u201d Sherig summarized. \u201cThat is also happening. In the realm of holding territory and maneuvering forces, our tools will become more sophisticated.\u201d<\/p>\n The directorate\u2019s primary focus is on ground forces, but it also maintains close cooperation with the Air Force and Navy.<\/p>\nIDF Military Drone Unit train with their drones near the Syrian border, northern Golan Heights, June 26, 2025. (credit: MICHAEL GILADI\/FLASH90)<\/p>\n