By Arie Egozi, Autonomy Global – Ambassador for Israel
The deepening operational cooperation between U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) impacts how troops deploy artificial intelligence (AI) in one of the world’s most volatile regions. This partnership includes extensive sharing of AI-enabled systems that support the mutual security interests of both countries across the Middle East.
U.S. Central Command, like the IDF, continues to integrate AI across intelligence, targeting, command-and-control (C2) and unmanned systems. It has become one of the U.S. Department of Defense’s primary testbeds for operational AI at scale. Israel’s move into CENTCOM’s area of responsibility (AOR) in 2021 accelerated this trend. Mutual regional security efforts continue to build a more unified regional security architecture that enhances deterrence.
Israeli defense sources say that deeper intelligence sharing and operational coordination with CENTCOM, including joint planning and execution, have already translated into concrete gains. CENTCOM played a key role in the joint response to Iranian missile and drone attacks on Israel, coordinating multinational defense efforts and contributing to the protection of Israeli airspace. “This very close cooperation worked very well in last year’s 12-day war with Iran, when CENTCOM participated in the protection of Israel against the Iranian ballistic missiles,” one source noted.
According to these same sources, CENTCOM now uses AI tools to process ISR feeds and other data streams at scale. This improves analyst workflows and compresses decision timelines, as the command positions itself as “AI-ready” and data-centric. Programs such as the Maven Smart System and related technologies fuse sensor inputs, automatically find and prioritize targets, and keep a human in the loop. This allows operational teams to handle many times more targets than with legacy methods.
CENTCOM’s maritime innovation hub, Task Force 59, has become a focal point for integrating AI with unmanned surface, subsurface and aerial platforms to deliver persistent surveillance and enhanced maritime domain awareness across critical waterways. The command’s formal theater strategy explicitly elevates robotics and AI as core enablers and stresses the importance of bringing allies and partners, including Israel and key Arab states, into these technology efforts from the outset.