By Arie Egozi, Autonomy Global – Ambassador for Israel
The U.S. and Israel are deploying advanced AI-based technologies to build real-time target banks in Iran, enabling rapid strikes against fleeting “pop-up” targets that appear only briefly on the battlefield.
According to defense sources, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is using highly advanced AI tools, including a system known as “Smart Maven,” to drive this new targeting architecture. This system fuses satellite imagery, drone video feeds, signals intelligence and other data streams into a single analytical interface for operators. Maven ingests data from dozens to more than 170 distinct intelligence sources, then uses AI models to detect patterns such as vehicle movements, radio signatures and construction activity, and flags potential targets for further review.
Once processed, the AI suggests hundreds or even thousands of targets, assigns precise coordinates and ranks them by importance, allowing U.S. and Israeli forces to prosecute time-sensitive targets in very short windows. CENTCOM has stated that these AI tools significantly shorten the sensor–target–shooter cycle, enabling U.S. forces in the Middle East to strike thousands of targets within compressed timeframes. Reports indicate that roughly 1,000 targets were hit in the first 24 hours of a recent offensive.
On the Israeli side, IDF intelligence, principally Unit 8200, is leveraging similar AI tools to expand and refine its own target bank. Cooperation between the American and Israeli systems is described as very close, with U.S. coordination officers embedded in the IDF’s central command post since the beginning of the war to synchronize intelligence flows and operational decisions.