The IDF’s AI engine fused decades of archived imagery with live feeds enabling algorithms to decrypt obscured or camouflaged structures.
By Hezy Laing
Israel’s rapid destruction of Iranian targets during Operation Rising Lion has been widely attributed to a breakthrough in the IDF’s use of artificial intelligence for satellite‑image decryption, a capability centered in the elite visual‑intelligence formation known as Unit 9900.
Operating from an underground command center, Unit 9900 analysts processed more than 12,000 satellite images during the first 48 hours of the campaign, drawing on data from the Ofek‑16 optical satellite, the Ofek‑13 synthetic‑aperture radar platform, and commercial constellations such as EROS‑B and EROS‑C3.
Senior officers described how AI‑driven systems automatically flagged changes in Iranian military infrastructure—new missile pads, mobile radar deployments, and hardened underground entrances—allowing the Israeli Air Force under Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar to strike dozens of high‑value sites in near‑real time.
The IDF’s AI engine, developed jointly by the Directorate of Defense Research and Development and Israel Aerospace Industries, fused decades of archived imagery with live feeds, enabling algorithms to decrypt obscured or camouflaged structures.
According to intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, the system reconstructed partial images, corrected atmospheric distortion, and identified Iranian air‑defense nodes with a precision previously impossible.
This allowed Israeli jets to penetrate deep into Iranian airspace while Mossad‑operated drones inside Iran simultaneously blinded local radar arrays.
The combination of AI‑enhanced satellite interpretation and autonomous strike platforms produced what Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir called “the fastest kill‑chain ever executed in the Middle East.”
Israel’s capabilities in this field place it among the global leaders in military AI, surpassing most European states and rivaling the United States and China.
While the U.S. National Geospatial‑Intelligence Agency operates larger satellite fleets, Israel’s advantage lies in its integration speed: the IDF can ingest, decrypt, analyze, and assign targets within minutes, a cycle far shorter than NATO’s typical multi‑hour process.
China’s People’s Liberation Army has invested heavily in AI‑driven reconnaissance, but its systems remain focused on regional surveillance rather than rapid global strike coordination.
Russia, despite its space legacy, has struggled to maintain high‑resolution satellite coverage since 2022.
Israel’s fusion of AI, space assets, and operational doctrine has created a uniquely agile intelligence machine.
The destruction of Iranian targets in 2025 demonstrated not only technological superiority but also a strategic model in which small states can achieve disproportionate power through algorithmic warfare, redefining the future of conflict in the region and beyond.
