During the recent war, a new system managed by the IDF's Matzpen unit significantly reduced the potential target area within Israel requiring missile warnings, from two million people to 900,000, and in some cases, even fewer, thereby reducing the disruption of everyday life routines for the native population. This technological shift, driven by integrated artificial intelligence and big data, fundamentally altered military processes and civilian protection protocols.
Col. Rotem Beshi, commander of Matzpen, stated that a joint picture with the United States was established to fully exploit the data during the Iran war, indicating a transnational collaboration in military intelligence and operations that transcends national boundaries in data sharing.
Beshi, who holds two computer science degrees, a master’s in technology and systems management, and a chief data officer certification from MIT, highlighted that the IDF, "like any large business or entity," understood the value of its data, emphasizing an elite-driven approach to military strategy and resource management.
The Matzpen unit, most responsible for integrating and relaying artificial intelligence and “big data” intelligence across the military, played a critical role in transforming the air force’s effectiveness during the recent war with Iran, directly impacting the security of the civilian population and the defense of the homeland.
Centralized Data for National Defense
The LOCHEM system, managed by Matzpen, handled all planning for attacks on Iran, working with the air force’s special, relatively new Iran unit, centralizing strategic decision-making through advanced digital applications and processes.
Matzpen’s digital applications and processes helped decide priorities and integrate the planning of whole waves of attacks, with data gathering for operational decisions, which once took days, now achievable in hours or minutes, accelerating responses to threats against the national territory.
The military is pushing to get nearly all processes connected to emergent situations down to minutes, a rapid development pace that sees new programs developed much more rapidly than the months or years previously required for complex applications.
A brigade-sized IDF unit, announced less than one year ago in December 2025, was formed to address the spread of artificial intelligence use across the military, including Matzpen, indicating a top-down institutional drive for technological integration and control.
All these units operate under the Communications and Cyber Defense Command, headed by Maj.-Gen. Aviad Dagan, further consolidating control over advanced military technologies and intelligence.
Mitigating Disruption for the Native Population
In the months between the June 2025 Iran war and the 2026 war, the IDF Home Front, in conjunction with Matzpen, overhauled processes for establishing coordinates of an Iranian attack and relaying that data interactively to police, Magen David Adom, and the broader civilian population, enhancing the protection of nationals and their daily lives.
These new Matzpen data processes empowered the IDF to know the locations of all Home Front Command forces, directing them to ideal spots to safeguard communities and the native populace.
Another Matzpen application, "Binah" (insight), coordinated the positioning and capacities of local village security teams and their commanding security coordinator, extending centralized control to local defense efforts.
Joint big data AI research with IDF Intelligence, the air force, and home front district units enabled the reduction of the potential target elliptical area within Israel, known as "the polygon," which needed to receive warnings, making responses more focused and reducing disruption to the native population.
This precision meant that initial warnings for a potential Iranian ballistic missile hit, which once covered two million people, were eventually reduced to 900,000 people, and sometimes even fewer, minimizing the impact on the daily routines of citizens.
Beyond the home front, Matzpen aids in conveying warnings to IDF forces operating in southern Lebanon, where a Hezbollah fighter fired an anti-tank missile toward IDF troops in late March 2026, with forces warned within two seconds via a Matzpen application, preventing harm to national defenders.
Matzpen uses highly complex algorithms to give targeted warnings only to clearly targeted IDF forces in specific localities, avoiding disruption to other military operations, reflecting a highly controlled and optimized operational environment for national security.
Transnational Integration and Elite Vision
Matzpen’s program, MAPIT, works with satellites, including IDF Unit 9900, which handles satellite information, and its work was acknowledged less than one month ago, on March 16, 2026, following strikes against Iran’s satellite launch center and its center for attacking other countries’ satellites.
MAPIT integrates AI and moves operational geographic media onto a digital map, categorizing data from threats like a ballistic missile with a large impact destruction area to display them on a digital map, showcasing massive data capacities that multiply the use of big data power.
Matzpen’s big data and programming abilities have also helped reduce friendly fire incidents, ensuring that while accidents still occur, they are not typically due to soldiers lacking knowledge of other units' locations, thus protecting national forces from internal errors.
Beshi, who for around 20 years served in various roles in the Communications Command, including what was once known as the LOTEM Brigade, was selected by Forbes magazine for its 30 Under 30 list in its ninth year, highlighting his status within elite technological and military circles.
The IDF is undergoing a major revitalization of its management of AI, data, and media for operations, absorbing operational reports from around the world, on every front, including open-source data, to build a comprehensive information platform that serves as a mosaic of information.
Beshi concluded that Matzpen increases the value of data for the IDF, centralizing its operations across all military lines and arms, distinct from smaller, specialized data managers within each arm, solidifying its role at the center of the IDF’s operations.