In a special interview for the Maariv podcast, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Chairman and father of the Arrow missile defense system, Boaz Levy, described how he views the battlefield of the next decade: heavily reliant on space, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, robotics, drone swarms, and missiles – and primarily requiring seamless connectivity between all bodies operating during wartime, from the IDF to hospitals and emergency rescue forces.
Levy began with space. When asked if IAI has plans to “conquer space,” he replied: “I thought we already conquered it. IAI is a space superpower. This needs to be understood.”
According to him, the roots of this movement lie in the late 1970s, following the peace agreement with Egypt and the withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula, which created a significant intelligence gap. “The way to bridge this gap was through technological means. IAI came up with the idea of: ‘Let’s launch a satellite into space with sensors that would observe from above.”
At the time, he noted, only the United States and the Soviet Union possessed similar capabilities. “And along comes little Israel, with extraordinary Israeli chutzpah, and says: We are going to do it.”
Levy pointed to the Ofek satellites as one of the main expressions of Israel’s transformation into a space superpower. During the war, he said, they provided the IDF with intelligence capabilities that enabled precise strikes and advanced operational planning. “Today it is no longer a secret that a pilot sitting in the cockpit receives an image taken from a satellite, which tells him where to fly and where to aim, and afterward it also tells him whether he hit the target or not,” he said.
In just one single year and during an active war, Israel launched three satellites: the “Dror” communications satellite and two “Ofek” reconnaissance satellites. “This demonstrates the capabilities of a superpower. In the middle of a war, we put more eyes in the sky and deployed another communications unit.” The growing number of observation satellites creates a massive data pool, Levy added, which serves as the foundation for artificial intelligence systems.
When asked about a plan to deploy a larger constellation of small satellites to allow the defense establishment to continuously track areas of interest from Iran to Turkey, he replied that it is not a fantasy.
“I wouldn’t use the term ‘flood.’ We are not talking about infinite quantities; we are talking about many satellites; it is a plan.” For the operational user, there are two main questions: how frequently a specific target can be observed, and at what resolution. “We are working on a technological solution that will allow intelligence, using space sensors and the most sophisticated AI-based algorithms in the world, to know exactly what is happening in our areas of interest at any given moment.”
Levy emphasized that the plan has already received government approval and is in execution. Funding comes partly from IAI’s research and development budgets and partly from the Defense Ministry. As more budget is allocated, the program will advance faster. “Israel needs to be a space superpower, at least among the top three in the world. I think we are approaching that big time,” he said.
For Levy, the next major shift is not just in platforms but in how militaries think and operate. “We are talking about a world of autonomous capabilities. We need to reduce the burden on the soldier in the field by increasing the use of robots. We have seen the beginnings of this in the current war.”
Alongside robotics, highly advanced sensory capabilities and enormous databases are required. “We need to have very advanced sensing capabilities, with very large data pools, that will allow these AI algorithms to analyze.” He offered the example of a radar scanning the same sector of terrain for years. “The moment you see a change, you can dive backward into this data and deduce what is going to happen moving forward. That is the greatness of AI.” IAI is already building these databases and establishing dedicated units of professionals who know how to integrate AI tools into operational systems.
When asked what the next war will look like, Levy was blunt: “We’ve learned that wars no longer happen on the border. There is no line you can call a frontline where the war takes place.” The Yom Kippur War model – where citizens in Tel Aviv lived far from the front – no longer applies. “Look at Ukraine, look at Israel. The next wars are happening in cities.”
The implication, he said, is that the military is no longer the only body operating during combat. “There are civilians, security forces, rescue forces, hospitals, banks. Everyone relies on the same database.” Levy argues that an ambulance, a rescue helicopter, and a military force need to operate on the same data network and share the same situational picture. “Everyone sits on the same planning basis, and everyone needs to know how to cooperate.”
The technology to enable this already exists, he noted. “From here, we need to receive budgets and more budgets. I know it’s difficult. This war has cost the State of Israel a lot of money and will cost more, but if we don’t invest today, we won’t have the answer tomorrow.”
Asked to picture the battlefield 10 or 20 years from now, Levy used the metaphor of playing on multiple chess boards simultaneously. “Think of Israel facing Yemen, Iran, Syria, Lebanon. This whole business is becoming very, very complex in terms of decision-making.”
The future lies in a world of sensors, munitions, autonomous systems, and spatial control. All systems must “talk” to each other, share data, and select the optimal response at any given moment based on the threat and available resources. “The data must flow from the same information pool to everyone, and at any given moment, for any given scenario, the system must find the optimal response based on the sensors and the effectors or munitions it possesses.”
Technologically, this is not science fiction, Levy added. “It’s all relatively uncomplicated mathematics and computing tools that already exist today. We just need to connect them together to create the future solution.”
The drone threat occupies a significant place in the conception of the future battlefield. Levy admitted Israel began addressing it “a bit later than perhaps we should have,” partly because of budget constraints and shifting priorities. The first step in dealing with a drone is detection. “If I don’t know it’s there, I can’t do anything about it. I think today we know how to provide a perfect response regarding the detection of drones.”
After detection comes interception. Levy noted several possible layers: kinetic means, electronic warfare, and lasers. “The answer needs to be all of the above. When you are talking about large quantities, about swarms, things coming from various places, you need a resilient and robust solution. Such a solution must integrate several technologies working together.” He added that MAFAT (the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development) is currently working on an integrated national-level solution, with defense industries presenting their capabilities and integrating into the overarching response.
Levy also addressed the long-standing debate over whether Israel needs an independent missile corps. “I don’t think the question is really whether to have a missile corps or not. A missile corps is a means. Does Israel need missiles that will provide a response in certain situations? Yes.” The recent war, he said, illustrated the need for missiles. “Missiles give you superiority at a given moment.”
The question of who operates them – the Air Force, ground forces, or a separate corps – is secondary in his view. “That is a marginal question; it doesn’t matter. The real question is whether orders and requirements will truly be issued here to develop such missiles.”
