The Israeli defence forces (IDF) will form a dedicated robotic corps that will perform a long list of missions in combat.
Lt. General Eyal Zamir, the Chief of Staff of the IDF, recently made the decision to create a special robot corps, which formalizes the events of the last conflict. While Ukraine plans to deploy 15,000 ground robots in a matter of months, China is deploying armed “robot dogs,” the United States is already investing $14.2 billion annually, and Israel is getting ready for this shift. The race toward an autonomous battlefield has started on a worldwide scale, and the question now is not whether or whether robots will participate in combat, but rather who will be in charge of this technology.
Israeli sources told Autonomy Global that the building blocks for such a corps are active and the plan is to coordinates their operation in the battlefield.
In the past, robots and drones were introduced into the IDF as simply auxiliary instruments; currently they are becoming a major pillar in the creation of the force in all branches. Remotely controlled D9 bulldozers, unmanned vessels at sea, autonomous armored personnel carriers that carried explosives to clear areas before troops entered, ground robots to scan tunnels and operate in trapped areas, and drones for intelligence gathering and precision attacks were all employed during the fighting in Gaza and Lebanon. This is a vast, not a localized, array – tens of thousands of vehicles were integrated into the battlefield.
The shift has already begun – The IDF deploys “Seek & Strike” drone swarms. These systems scatter mini-drones to scout buildings and detonate explosives.
Unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) like Roboteam systems and the IAI Jaguar patrol borders, map complex tunnel networks, and clear booby traps.
Robots now deliver vital medicine and food to the front lines. This removes the danger of supply convoys.
Unmanned platforms reduce the risk to human life in urban areas and tunnels. They are also force multipliers. Between 2023 and 2025, over 80% of Israeli Air Force flight hours were flown by UAVs. This allows the military to conduct 24/7 surveillance without putting pilots at risk.