The 12-Day War Between Israel and Iran: How Artificial Intelligence is Reshaping Modern Military Conflicts

Dr Frederick Wong
Jul 2
6 min read

In June 2025, during the "Rising Lion" operation, the short but intense conflict between Israel and Iran marked a milestone in the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in modern warfare. AI not only played a crucial role in intelligence gathering, target identification, and battlefield coordination but also demonstrated its immense potential in cyberattacks, electronic warfare, and psychological operations. However, under the atmosphere of war, idealistic aspirations, such as embracing universal love and harmony, proved insufficient to counteract the harsh realities of hostility and survival pressures. This conflict revealed how AI is transforming the nature of warfare, ushering in a new era for the military.

1. Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Modern Warfare

AI's applications in the military are becoming increasingly widespread, covering core areas such as intelligence gathering, battlefield situational awareness, predictive analysis, and operational command. Below are the main applications of AI:

Intelligence Gathering and Analysis: AI can process massive and complex data rapidly, accurately identifying and categorizing targets. For instance, the Israeli military utilized AI to analyze drone-captured images, quickly locking onto critical enemy targets and significantly improving intelligence processing efficiency. However, this cold efficiency of technology serves as a reminder that war cannot depend on emotions or universal love but must rely on data and strategy.
Battlefield Situational Awareness: Through deep learning and big data analytics, AI extracts useful information from the complexities of battlefield data to help commanders comprehensively understand battlefield dynamics, highlighting the ruthless logic of real warfare.
Operational Command and Decision Support: AI-assisted systems can analyze battlefield data in real time to provide decision-making suggestions. For example, the U.S. Navy's Aegis Combat System, integrated with AI technology, can automatically select the best weapon for an attack, showcasing technology's decisive role in survival competition.

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2. AI Applications in the "Rising Lion" Operation

In the June 2025 conflict, Israel demonstrated its leading AI and drone technology capabilities. Examples include:

Intelligence Gathering and Target Identification: Israel utilized AI to quickly screen multi-source intelligence and precisely identify critical targets within Iran. Combining real-time intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, AI enabled precise multi-target strikes, underscoring that, under war conditions, strategic considerations outweigh idealistic universal love.
Drones and Long-Range Strikes: Israel deployed over 200 aircraft, targeting more than 100 Iranian locations and delivering over 330 precision-guided munitions. AI technology ensured highly efficient battlefield coordination and strikes, further proving the priority of survival and victory.
Cyberattacks and Electronic Warfare: Israel launched cyberattacks to disable Iran's radar systems, creating air corridors for its aircraft. Additionally, remote signals were used to detonate bombs hidden near Iranian military facilities, illustrating the technologically dominated reality of war rather than emotional reconciliation.

3. How AI Enhances Rapid Response in Modern Warfare

AI technology significantly shortens the decision-making and operational cycles in modern warfare, improving the efficiency and accuracy of military actions:

Shortened Decision Cycles: AI-assisted systems analyze battlefield data quickly, providing real-time decision-making suggestions and accelerating command processes. This reflects the supreme importance of time and efficiency in warfare over idealistic compromises.
Faster Operational Speed: AI enables real-time battlefield situational awareness and rapid responses, allowing forces to act in extremely short timeframes, emphasizing the ruthless nature of survival competition.
Enhanced Combat Effectiveness: AI increases the intelligence level of weapon systems, strengthening mobility and joint strike capabilities, further dismissing the impracticality of universal love and reconciliation.

4. AI's Impact on a Nation's Military Edge

AI provides nations with significant competitive advantages in modern warfare. Key factors include:

Technology Leadership: Nations possessing advanced AI technologies hold advantages in intelligence gathering, situational awareness, and operational command, highlighting the cold competition of strength in warfare rather than emotional reconciliation.
Rapid Response: Nations capable of making decisions and taking actions rapidly gain battlefield initiative, bypassing the slow adaptations of idealistic approaches.
Combat Effectiveness: AI enhances the intelligence of weapon systems and strengthens overall combat capabilities, further proving that, under warlike conditions, survival and victory considerations take precedence over all else.

5. AI Applications in Naval, Ground, Air, and Space Forces

Navy: AI improves the autonomy and operational effectiveness of naval vessels. For example, the U.S. Aegis system uses AI to automatically select weapons for attacks and plays a crucial role in anti-submarine warfare and missile defense. This technology-driven strategy leaves no room for emotional reconciliation.

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Army: AI is widely applied in unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and unmanned ground sensors (UGS), enhancing logistics support and reconnaissance capabilities. For instance, the U.S. Army's Integrated Command Battle System (ICBS) uses AI to integrate multi-source data, improving battlefield situational awareness. Ukraine's National Guard AI combat module, TGP, autonomously identifies targets and calculates trajectories, demonstrating the cold efficiency of technology in warfare.
Air Force: The Air Force is the most extensive field for AI applications. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs) leverage AI for autonomous reconnaissance, surveillance, and precision strikes. For example, the U.S. XQ-58A "Valkyrie" drone collaborates with F-35s, autonomously identifying targets and transmitting data in real time, emphasizing the cold logic of war.
Space Force: In space forces, AI is applied to satellite autonomous control, orbital management, and space situational awareness. For example, the U.S. Space Force uses AI to enhance satellite anti-interference capabilities, ensure the safety of space assets, and predict enemy space activities to formulate response strategies, demonstrating the decisive role of technology in warfare rather than universal love.

6. AI Applications in Advanced Weapon Systems

AI drives the intelligence and autonomy of weapon systems. Unmanned Warfare Systems (UWOS) leverage autonomous navigation, target identification, and route planning to adapt to diverse battlefield environments. Additionally, AI enhances the accuracy and response speed of hypersonic and laser weapons. These developments further strengthen the technology-driven reality of warfare, eliminating the possibility of emotional reconciliation. With the potential development of Artificial Superintelligence (ASI), future weapon systems may independently formulate strategies, raising the possibility of AI-vs-AI conflicts.

7. The Decisive Role of AI in Modern Warfare

AI not only improves operational efficiency but also transforms the nature and rules of war. Its rapid decision-making, autonomy, and intelligence play key roles in intelligence gathering, decision support, and weapon systems. For example, in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijan utilized TB-2 drones and Harop loitering munitions to construct a "reconnaissance-strike-assessment" closed loop, significantly enhancing combat effectiveness. This highlights the reality of technology prevailing over idealism in warfare. AI also generates fake information in psychological and cyber warfare, disrupting enemy decision-making and further influencing outcomes. In the future, if ASI achieves autonomous learning and decision-making, AI-vs-AI conflicts may no longer require human intervention, creating a new form of warfare.

8. The Role of Palantir and Other AI Military Software Companies

Palantir Technologies Inc.

Overview: Founded in 2003 by Peter Thiel and others, Palantir specializes in big data analytics and AI. Its name originates from the "Seeing Stones" in The Lord of the Rings. Early support from the CIA's In-Q-Tel helped it become a key U.S. government partner.
Core Products:
- Gotham: Provides intelligence analysis for government and defense departments, aiding in tracking terrorists.
- Foundry: Supports enterprise decision automation.
- Apollo: Handles software deployment.
- AIP: Integrates AI and data analytics for intelligent automation.
U.S. Government Collaboration: Palantir collaborates with the CIA, Department of Defense (DoD), Army, Space Force, and ICE. For example, in December 2024, it signed a $400.7 million contract with the U.S. Army and supports JADC2 systems integrating data across all military branches.
Market Performance and Outlook: By the end of 2024, Palantir's market value reached $172.2 billion, with its AI platform AIP regarded as a growth engine for the next decade. Government business accounts for about 55% of its revenue, with continued expansion in military applications expected.

Other AI Military Software Companies:

Anduril Industries: Focuses on autonomous systems and AI, securing major contracts with the DoD and Department of Homeland Security.
SpaceX: Collaborates with NASA and the DoD in space launch and satellite communications.

9. Future Outlook

As AI technology continues to advance, its applications in the military will deepen, becoming the core force on the battlefield. AI will reshape intelligence gathering, operational planning, and strike models. In the future, ASI may surpass current AI limitations, achieving self-evolution and independent decision-making capabilities. If multiple nations or entities develop military systems with ASI, AI-vs-AI conflicts could arise without human intervention. For example, ASI may autonomously launch attacks due to resource competition, data dominance, or misjudgment, creating a form of warfare beyond human control. However, the rapid development of AI also poses challenges, such as the safety and ethical concerns of fully autonomous attack systems. While promoting the military application of AI and ASI, it is essential to establish ethical and legal frameworks to ensure the reasonable and safe use of technology, while recognizing the harsh realities of war and the potential risks of AI autonomy.

Reference

1. Growing demand sparks DOD to raise Palantir’s Maven contract to more than $1B