Two things have happened in Israel in recent days in parallel: first, Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir announced that he will establish his own organizational unit for unmanned systems and artificial intelligence within the Israeli armed forces. And a day later, Elbit Systems followed suit with the introduction of its new subsidiary FUSE. This subsidiary is intended to consolidate all AI-assisted autonomous combat systems—from drone swarms to unmanned ground vehicles to joint operations of manned and unmanned platforms—within the company.
With this, both the Israeli armed forces and Elbit Systems are embracing the trend toward unmanned systems as well as AI-supported decision-making. Overall, it is evident that the Israeli defense industry is driving the development of autonomous weapon systems at a high pace. With the introduction of the new subsidiary FUSE, Elbit Systems has now created a platform that for the first time connects different autonomous systems into a common combat network. The focus is not on a single vehicle or drone, but on the ability to coordinate and deploy in real time potentially large numbers or swarms of unmanned aerial and ground vehicles simultaneously.
New AI-assisted Command and Control System
The core piece of the new portfolio being developed within FUSE is the Dominion-X operating system. According to the company, it is an AI-assisted command and control system that enables so-called One2Many operations. A single operator can monitor and control numerous autonomous platforms simultaneously.
The system is intended to remain operational even if satellite navigation is disrupted or completely degraded by electronic warfare. To this end, Dominion-X combines artificial intelligence with Automatic Target Recognition (ATR), autonomous navigation methods, and a shared digital mission architecture through which all platforms exchange information in real time.
AI Takes Decisions
According to FUSE CEO Eyal Dahan, artificial intelligence already handles more than 70 percent of the processes within the system today. “The human remains in the decision-making process,” Dahan stressed. Only if these parameters were to change in the future could the degree of autonomy continue to rise.
Thus, Elbit follows the principle currently pursued by many Western armed forces of Human in the Loop, whereby a human operator ultimately decides on the use of force.
Autonomous Combat Formations
The new platform comprises a whole range of different deployment systems. These include, among others:
- autonomous tactical reconnaissance and assault units,
- swarm drones of the PIRANI-X family,
- unmanned ground vehicles for house-to-house combat,
- so-called Armored Wingman, which operate together with main battle tanks or infantry fighting vehicles,
- autonomous border-surveillance systems,
- portable reconnaissance drones of the X-intra-, THOR-, and Magni-X families,
- as well as AI retrofit kits for existing vehicles.
According to the company, these systems can be integrated directly into existing military structures and deployed in conjunction with manned platforms.
Significantly Faster in Combat
The aim of the new technology is to significantly accelerate the tempo of military operations. Through automated information exchange between sensors and weapons systems, targets are to be detected, identified, and engaged more quickly.
According to the company, AI substantially shortens the so-called sensor-to-shooter chain. At the same time, deploying large numbers of autonomous systems is intended to increase combat power and reduce risk to soldiers.
Millions of Flight Hours
According to Elbit, the underlying technologies are already in worldwide use today. The company cites more than one million flight hours of autonomous aerial vehicles as well as over 100,000 deployment hours of unmanned ground vehicles. Thousands of drones and several hundred unmanned ground platforms have already been delivered to armed forces in Israel, Europe, and the United States.
Developing Swarms of Drones and Robotic Armies
The introduction of FUSE coincides with a fundamental realignment of the Israeli armed forces. Just the day before the presentation of FUSE, Israel’s Chief of the General Staff announced the creation within the IDF of its own organizational unit for unmanned systems and artificial intelligence. In the view of Israeli observers, this timing underscores the importance autonomous systems will have in future combat leadership. No longer individual drones or robots are the focus, but their coordinated use as a networked combat formation.
With FUSE, Elbit now presents a platform designed to support precisely this development.
Author: Arie Egozi, Israel Correspondent
