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| Science & Technology |
| An army of algorithms: How MAFAT is fighting Israel's wars with artificial intelligence - interview |
| 2026-02-08 |
| [JP] The understanding has sunk in that the winner in battle will be the one who holds the smartest model inside the missile’s head, and no less importantly, inside the commander’s observation tools. "There are also errors, and the wisdom lies in training and preparing both the operator and the machine to deal with them," said Col. (res.) Yaron Sherig, head of the Defense Ministry’s AI and Autonomy Directorate at MAFAT, in an interview with Maariv last week. 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. To preserve the technological gap with the enemy, the directorate has enlisted dozens of startup companies, implementing the strategy of the Defense Ministry’s Director General, and former deputy IDF chief of staff, Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram, summarized as "An 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." The Directorate of Defense, Research and Development (DDR&D), also known as MAFAT, is a joint administrative body of the Israel Ministry of Defense. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |