IDF restructures tech divisions

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The IDF continues to draw lessons from the Gaza War: The army has announced the closure of the Lotem Unit (the Unit for Telecommunications and Information Technology) in the C41 Corps, which developed software and communications systems for the army. In its place two separate divisions have been established.

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Division, to improve the ability to provide a better battle picture, to accurately hit targets and to improve the functioning of units through applications and smart chat bots.

The Spectrum Division, to deal with expanding the range of communications and electronic warfare and improving it for distant countries and even space, as part of the lessons of the war with Iran and the increasing involvement of space powers such as China and Russia in the Middle East.

AI Division

The new AI Division, which will be commanded by Brig. Gen. B. and will merge with MAMRAM (Central Computing System UnIt ) and the IDF software development units Shahar and Mitzpen, is the place where language models are already being developed in the army based on training data from the worlds of combat, logistics, and manpower. The need to build the Division stems first and foremost from the need to train models in one location for reasons of data security, but also due to the high cost of training activities.

The ICT Division has already been involved in training and operating language models since it was established. At the beginning of the war, the army was equipped with many graphics processors, and after several procurement processes, it doubled the amount of electricity consumed for AI activities to nearly 4 additional megawatts and tripled the number of graphics processors compared with October 6.

The army is looking to implement AI wherever it is needed. For example, summarizing conversations in a communication network and extracting insights from it, or producing a quick investigation within minutes by entering all the sources of information that exist about an operational event. The new division will expand the ability of other forces to receive the battle picture on a digital map, a phone or tablet, better coordinate live fire, prevent friendly fire, and close issues quickly, even if they are not within the organic team.

As part of the establishment of the division, new positions have been created in the IDF. Data analysts, data scientists and engineers, and a new role that may become an integral part of the IDF — an AI scientist» — a kind of NCO in the divisions and brigades, firearms, operations and engineering of the army who will analyze data using IDF AI applications and assist commanders in making decisions based on the insights discovered.

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With cloud infrastructure and AI, the new division is not taking chances and is working in line with the Nimbus plan set by the Ministry of Finance four years ago, in which Google and Amazon servers located in Israel will receive more activities at the expense of suppliers that are not part of Nimbus, such as Microsoft and Oracle. In addition, the division will make extensive use of open source and distributes processes and systems in order not to be dependent on a single player, and to allow flexibility to switch from one technological service to another.

The Satellites Division

Another divsion being established today is based on the communications and electronic warfare units of the ICT Division, including Maof, Hoshen, and Prisma, and expands the scope to new areas where the IDF is required to provide a response, such as with satellites. The Iran operation was a demonstration of the IDF’s ability to operate in a highly synchronized way, due in part to satellite communications and their high availability, even in distant locations such as Tehran and the Yemenite port of Hodeidah.

According to the Space Directorate, this communication was essential for supporting the attack and allowed both the IDF and US military to obtain a good intelligence picture. It is not clear exactly where the Spectrum Division will operate, but the threat posed by powers such as Russia and China and their involvement in supplying technologies to Iran and Yemen requires a response to the threat in space. The IDF understands this and is preparing for the next multi-year plan that will include advanced satellite capabilities.

«I have no doubt that the world is heading towards a space war, especially after the US and China defined space as a possible war arena,» Dr. Moshik Cohen, a former senior developer of the David’s Sling and Barak 8 systems and currently CEO of defense-tech company AIPEX, which deals with interception technologies and hypersonic missiles. He tells «Globes,» «Rival powers are already using it on the battlefield. The Chinese have developed a way to detect stealth aircraft using satellites, and the Russians have jammed GPS signals from US satellites, which have dropped thousands of smart bombs on earth and blocked satellite communications for the Ukrainians. At the same time, the US is promoting Golden Dome, which will consist of a network of low-flying satellites able to perform military missions such as intercepting ballistic and hypersonic missiles and blocking enemy communications.»

50% women

Finally, the establishment of the new divisions has also led to unprecedented integration of women in the IDF. According to estimates, half of all soldiers serving in the two new divisions are women. Out of the five lieutenant generals in the division — two of them are women — Brigadier General Yael Grossman, who until now served as the commander of Lotem Unit and is now the head of the ICT and Cyber Defense Division; and Racheli Dembinsky, a former commander of the IDF’s Military Intelligence and Defense Division who has now been appointed head of the Spectrum Division.

Published by Globes, Israel business news — en.globes.co.il — on December 2, 2025.