The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Military Tensions between the US, Israel and Iran: Objectives, Capabilities and Future Applications

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have rapidly proliferated in the military sphere and significantly altered the nature of modern warfare.

Countries with high technological capacity or those developing asymmetric warfare strategies, such as the United States, Israel, and Iran, have begun to utilise AI in numerous areas, ranging from intelligence analysis to target identification, cyber operations, and autonomous systems.

This article aims to provide an analytical examination of how artificial intelligence systems are used in the geopolitical tensions between these countries, based on information available in open sources. In particular, the article seeks to answer the following questions:

• For what purposes are artificial intelligence models used in military operations?

• What are the technical capabilities of these systems?

• What strategic objectives are the US, Israel and Iran pursuing in developing these technologies?

• How might the role of artificial intelligence on the battlefield change in the future?

In answering these questions, the article provides a comprehensive assessment, drawing on the literature of military technology, data science, cyber security and strategic studies.

The Evolution of Artificial Intelligence in the Military Field

The use of artificial intelligence technologies in the military is not new. Early decision support systems and statistical modelling techniques began to be used in military planning during the Cold War. However, advances in areas such as machine learning, deep learning, and big data analysis have significantly increased the effectiveness of these technologies today.

Modern military artificial intelligence systems can generally be divided into three main categories:

1. Data Analysis and Intelligence Systems

2. Autonomous or semi-autonomous weapon platforms

3. Decision support and combat management systems

These systems accelerate military decision-making processes by analysing large data sources such as unmanned aerial vehicles, satellite imagery, sensor networks, and open-source intelligence.

The US Military Artificial Intelligence Strategy

The US is one of the world's most advanced countries in military artificial intelligence development. The US Department of Defence published a comprehensive strategy document entitled ‘Artificial Intelligence Strategy’ in 2018.

One of the US's key programmes in this area is the image analysis system known as Project Maven, developed by the software platform Palantir.

This system aims to automatically detect military targets by analysing video footage from unmanned aerial vehicles.

The US is also investing heavily in artificial intelligence research in areas such as autonomous drone swarms, advanced cyber defence systems, and battlefield data integration. Pentagon institutions such as the Joint Artificial Intelligence Centre (JAIC) and the subsequently established Chief Digital and AI Office (CDAO) are responsible for coordinating these efforts.

Israel's Artificial Intelligence-Supported Defence Systems

Despite being a small country, Israel is quite advanced in military technology development.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) uses artificial intelligence particularly in intelligence analysis and target identification systems.

According to information available in open sources, some systems contain algorithms that prioritise potential military targets by analysing large data pools. These systems can analyse multiple data sources, such as satellite imagery, drone data, and signal intelligence.

Israel is also developing artificial intelligence applications in areas such as autonomous border security systems, missile defence technologies, and unmanned ground vehicles.

Iran's Artificial Intelligence and Asymmetric Warfare Strategy

Although Iran has a more limited technological infrastructure compared to the US and Israel, it is conducting various research programmes on artificial intelligence and autonomous systems.

Iran is known to be working particularly in the following areas:

• Drone technologies

• Electronic warfare and signal analysis

• Cyber operations

• Autonomous surveillance systems

Iran's strategy is generally based on developing lower-cost but effective asymmetric technologies.

Most of the artificial intelligence systems used or allegedly used by the US, Israel and Iran in military operations are not entirely public. However, according to open sources, academic publications and journalistic investigations, there are some known or frequently reported systems. The most important of these are summarised below by category.

1. US military artificial intelligence systems

The Palantir software platform Project Maven

· Purpose: To analyse drone and satellite imagery

· Capabilities:

o Detection of vehicles, buildings, and people in video footage

o Automatic target classification

o Big data analysis

· Technology: Computer vision + deep learning

This system was developed specifically to accelerate military intelligence by analysing images from unmanned aerial vehicles.

JAIC / CDAO AI Platforms

· Institution: US Department of Defence

· Purpose: To coordinate all military AI projects

Areas of application:

· Battlefield data analysis

· Logistics optimisation

· Maintenance prediction

· Decision support systems

Skyborg

· Purpose: Autonomous combat aircraft

· Capabilities:

o Pilot support AI

o Drone combat aircraft

o Autonomous mission planning

Skyborg was developed for manned combat aircraft to fly alongside AI-controlled drone ‘wingman’ aircraft.

Replicator Initiative AI

This is one of the US's new programmes.

Purpose:

· Thousands of autonomous drone swarms

· AI coordination

· Low-cost autonomous combat systems

2. Artificial intelligence systems used or allegedly used by Israel

Israel has one of the world's most advanced military AI ecosystems in this area.

Lavender

· Purpose: target identification

· Capabilities:

o Analysis of intelligence data

o Identification of potential militants

o Target list generation

According to some media reports, this system can automatically prioritise thousands of targets.

Habsora (The Gospel)

· Purpose: Rapidly identifying attack targets

· Capabilities:

o Data fusion

o Generating target recommendations

o Bombardment planning support

This system has also been described as a ‘target production machine’.

Fire Factory

· Purpose: Attack planning automation

· Capabilities:

o Munitions selection

o Attack timing

o Target prioritisation

Iron Dome AI algorithms

The Iron Dome missile defence system also incorporates AI algorithms.

· Rocket trajectory prediction

· Threat analysis

· Automatic interception decision

3. Iran's artificial intelligence projects

Less information is available about Iran's systems, but some known projects exist.

Basir AI Vision Systems

· Purpose: image analysis systems

· Drone image analysis

· Surveillance

Drone AI Navigation

It is known that AI navigation is used in Iran's drone programmes.

Specifically:

· Shahed drones

· Target tracking algorithms

· Autonomous flight

Cyber warfare AI systems

Iran is developing some AI tools for the following purposes:

· Cyber attack automation

· Network analysis

· Propaganda/information operations

4. Common capabilities of these military AI systems

Most of these systems utilise the following AI technologies:

Computer Vision

· Satellite image analysis

· Drone video analysis

· Target recognition

Pattern Recognition

· Communication data analysis

· Motion analysis

Predictive Analytics

· Attack prediction

· Behaviour analysis

Autonomous Systems

· Drone swarms

· Autonomous vehicles

Technical Capabilities of Artificial Intelligence Models

The core capabilities of military artificial intelligence systems can be examined under several main headings.

The first is image recognition systems. These systems can detect vehicles, facilities or human movements from satellite or drone images.

The second is natural language processing systems. These models can analyse large amounts of textual data to classify intelligence reports or extract important information.

Thirdly, there are prediction models. These systems analyse past data sets to predict the probabilities of certain military scenarios.

Cyber Warfare and Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence technologies also play an important role in cyber warfare.

Cyber security systems can detect abnormal network behaviour using machine learning.

It is known that the US and Israel have developed advanced defence systems in this area.

Iran, on the other hand, is attempting to develop attack-focused cyber operation capabilities.

Artificial intelligence models used in this field can detect potential attacks at an early stage by analysing network traffic or activate automatic defence mechanisms.

Autonomous Weapons Systems

Autonomous weapons systems are one of the most controversial areas of military artificial intelligence.

These systems may have the capacity to identify specific targets and carry out attacks without human intervention.

Many countries are working on technologies such as drone swarms, autonomous ground vehicles, and smart munitions. Such systems can enable rapid decision-making and operational efficiency on the battlefield.

However, they also raise ethical and legal debates.

Ethical and Legal Debates

The proliferation of artificial intelligence-supported military systems raises important questions in terms of international law and ethics.

In particular, the fact that autonomous weapon systems can make lethal decisions without human control is seen as alarming by many experts.

Various discussions are being held within the United Nations regarding the regulation of these technologies. However, there is still no binding regulation on a global scale.

Future Applications

It is predicted that artificial intelligence will be used more extensively in the military field in the future.

The following military AI systems may be developed in the future.

a. Fully automated battlefield analysis systems

b. Autonomous drone swarms

c. Autonomous logistics systems

d. AI strategy simulations

e. Artificial intelligence-assisted military planning

f. Human–machine teams

g. Human–AI joint combat management

h. Fully integrated cyber warfare AI

Conclusion

In conclusion, artificial intelligence technologies have begun to take centre stage in modern military strategies.

The Pentagon, whose name was changed by US President Donald Trump to ‘War Department’, is engaged in war with Iran on the one hand, while taking remarkable steps in the field of artificial intelligence on the other.

The Pentagon has restricted the use of a technology reported to be used in military operations in Iran by officially designating artificial intelligence company Anthropic as a ‘supply chain risk’.

The ‘supply chain risk’ label, confirmed by a statement released by Anthropic, took effect immediately. Within this framework, companies awarded government contracts are prohibited from using Anthropic technology in work carried out on behalf of the US military.

The ‘supply chain risk’ designation is a legal mechanism that prohibits the use of a product or technology in federal contracts if it is deemed to threaten US national security. This authority is normally used against foreign threats.

Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE are the best-known examples of this. Anthropic is a historic case as this designation has been applied to an American company for the first time.

The US is using Claude in Iran

This step constitutes an extraordinary rebuke by the US government against an American technology company that began working with the Pentagon earlier than its competitors. According to a source familiar with the matter, this step was taken at a time when the US continued to rely on Anthropic's technology to support military operations, including those in Iran.

It is believed that Anthropic's AI-based chatbot Claude is likely being used for intelligence analysis and operational planning support.

At the same time, Palantir's Maven Smart Systems product, a software platform that supports armies with intelligence analysis and weapon targeting, contains numerous command sequences and workflows created using Anthropic's Claude code.

Although countries such as the US, Israel and Iran follow different strategic approaches, the importance of artificial intelligence on the battlefield is clearly increasing.

In the future, the development of these technologies will profoundly affect not only the military balance but also the international security architecture. Therefore, ethical, legal and strategic debates regarding the use of artificial intelligence are expected to intensify.

Academic studies on AI-supported military systems show that data quality and algorithm transparency are of critical importance. Furthermore, it is frequently emphasised that the complete removal of human oversight could pose serious risks.

For this reason, many researchers propose hybrid control approaches known as ‘human-in-the-loop’ or ‘human-on-the-loop’. In these models, artificial intelligence systems perform analysis and generate recommendations, but the final decision is made by human operators. Another important issue for military institutions is data security. Since artificial intelligence systems rely on large data sets, the manipulation of this data could create serious operational risks.

Academic studies on AI-supported military systems show that data quality and algorithm transparency are of critical importance. Furthermore, it is frequently emphasised that the complete removal of human oversight could pose serious risks.