Israel's military has fundamentally transformed operational effectiveness through artificial intelligence and integrated data systems, according to Col. Rotem Beshi, commander of Matzpen, the IDF unit responsible for coordinating AI and big data intelligence across the armed forces.
The acceleration of decision-making represents a significant operational advantage. What once required days of analysis—gathering data to make critical operational decisions—now takes hours, or in some cases minutes, Beshi told The Jerusalem Post in an exclusive interview. The IDF is pushing to compress nearly all processes connected to emergent situations down to minutes, fundamentally altering how modern military operations function.
Beshi, 38, credits the LOCHEM system, managed by Matzpen, with handling all planning for attacks on Iran during the recent conflict. The system worked with the air force's Iran unit to set priorities and integrate planning for entire waves of attacks, demonstrating how technological integration can multiply military effectiveness without proportional increases in personnel or resources.
Accelerating Military Innovation
The structural foundation for this advancement came less than one year ago, when the IDF announced a brigade-sized unit in December 2025 to address the spread of artificial intelligence use across the military. This organizational investment reflects recognition that technological capability requires dedicated institutional focus. The Communications and Cyber Defense Command, headed by Maj.-Gen. Aviad Dagan, oversees all these units.
Beshi, who holds two degrees in computer science, a master's degree in technology and systems management, and a certification as a chief data officer from MIT, notes that Matzpen could be working on a couple of dozen new applications simultaneously to improve offensive and defensive capacities. Where developing complex new applications to confront emerging challenges once took months or years, the military now develops new programs much more rapidly.
The goal, Beshi explained, is for IDF field commanders to work with familiar, user-friendly technological systems that empower them to execute strategy and tactics more effectively, rather than struggling with confusing or slow technologies that impede operational tempo.
Integration Across Military Commands
Data transmission now flows across all major commands—northern, southern, and central—significantly improving planning and fundamentally altering military processes. This integration allows intelligence processes to identify targets, move to operational processes, conduct concrete planning and approval, execute attacks, and complete battle damage assessment with unprecedented speed and coordination.
Matzpen's tight integration with operational and intelligence processes enables the intelligence-to-operations pipeline to function as a unified system. The unit connects intelligence and operations, sending data into and out from field operations closest to the front lines. During the recent conflict spanning both Iranian and Lebanese fronts, Beshi said Matzpen's data streaming facilitated rapid plan changes and maximized operational flexibility, including adjusting aircraft trajectories to focus on specific targets and keeping attacks flowing more fluidly.
The system also enabled a joint intelligence picture with the United States, demonstrating how technological interoperability enhances alliance effectiveness. During the Iran war, the impact of air force attacks combined with Israel's extensive sensor networks relaying data through Matzpen to the IDF Home Front Command enabled much faster warning issuance and advance preparation.
Civilian Protection and Operational Precision
Beyond combat operations, the technology has civilian protection applications. In the months between the June 2025 Iran war and the 2026 conflict, the IDF Home Front, working with Matzpen, overhauled processes for establishing coordinates of Iranian attacks and transmitting that data to police, Magen David Adom, and the broader civilian population.
Matzpen's big data capabilities enabled a dramatic reduction in the size of warning areas. Initial warnings at the war's start for potential Iranian ballistic missile strikes covered a polygon of two million people. Through joint AI research with IDF Intelligence, the air force, and home front district units, this was eventually reduced to 900,000 people, and in some cases fewer. This precision reduces disruption to everyday life while maintaining protective effectiveness.
A Matzpen application called "Binah" (insight) coordinated positioning and capacities of all local village security teams and their commanding security coordinators. The system also improved the process of conveying warnings to IDF forces operating in southern Lebanon, using highly complex algorithms to issue targeted warnings only to clearly targeted forces in specific localities, avoiding disruption to other military operations.
Real-Time Threat Response
In a recent example from late March 2026, when a Hezbollah fighter fired an anti-tank missile toward IDF troops in southern Lebanon, Matzpen applications warned those forces within two seconds of the impending threat, giving them sufficient time to reach protected positions with no resulting harm.
Matzpen's programs integrate satellite information through IDF Unit 9900, which handles satellite data. The MAPIT program works with satellites and manages operational geographic media intake and sharing across defense establishment entities. When reports of threats to cities like Beersheba or Haifa come in, MAPIT processes the data—whether text or video of ballistic missiles—categorizes the source, and displays it on a digital map with enormous data capacity.
Beshi noted that Matzpen's applications have also helped reduce friendly fire incidents by mapping friendly forces with precision. While accidents still occur, they typically result from soldiers being pinned down and lacking time to interface with available data, rather than from lack of positional awareness.
The IDF is undertaking a major revitalization of its management of AI, data, and media for operations. The military receives and absorbs operational reports from every front, including open-source data, to build a platform functioning as a mosaic of information. Beshi emphasized that the IDF, like any large business or entity, understands the value of its data. He stressed that AI and big data effectiveness depends on data accessibility across groups who need it, and that different data storage approaches directly impact real-world military front lines.
Matzpen operates across all lines and arms of the military—a unique position compared to smaller data managers focused on specific military branches like the air force or navy. This comprehensive integration, Beshi concluded, increases the value of data for the entire IDF.
Why This Matters:
The integration of AI and big data systems represents a substantial force multiplier that enhances military effectiveness without requiring proportional increases in personnel or defense budgets. The compression of decision-making timelines from days to minutes fundamentally changes operational calculus, enabling faster response to threats and more precise targeting. For civilian protection, the technology demonstrates how advanced systems can increase security while reducing unnecessary disruption to daily life. The institutional investment in a dedicated AI brigade less than one year ago reflects recognition that technological capability requires sustained focus and resources. As militaries worldwide compete in technological sophistication, Israel's demonstrated capability to rapidly develop and deploy new applications while maintaining integration across commands suggests that organizational structure and data accessibility—not just raw computational power—determine military effectiveness. This model has implications for how defense establishments balance rapid innovation with operational security and interagency coordination.