AI Emerges as True Game-Changer in Modern Warfare, Doubling Strike Speed

Drones emerged as a new game-changer in modern warfare through the Russia-Ukraine conflict that has continued for over three years. Cheap suicide drones are difficult to shoot down, forcing defenders into inefficient tactics of deploying expensive missiles, making them prized strategic assets for attackers.

However, a different game-changer has emerged in the Middle East conflict triggered by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. The Wall Street Journal reported on May 7 that cutting-edge technologies including AI are serving as "game-changers" transforming the paradigm of warfare. The report noted that AI-enabled situation rooms are enabling unprecedented speed and precision in combat operations.

The U.S. Department of Defense reportedly used Claude, an AI service developed by big tech firms Palantir and Anthropic, for surprise attack planning and analyzing various intelligence sources. The technology was also deployed to select key targets including Iranian supreme leadership meeting locations and missile storage facilities, and to determine strike priorities. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was eliminated on the day of the airstrikes.

The history of warfare is a history of technological advancement. Medieval warfare using catapults ended in 1453 when the Ottoman Empire breached Byzantine capital's defensive walls with gunpowder artillery. The advent of aircraft transformed warfare from ground and sea operations into three-dimensional combat. The Battle of Britain during World War II exemplifies how air power became directly linked to national survival.

Nuclear weapons became the ultimate force in warfare after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. But a new power surpassing nuclear weapons has emerged in this Middle East conflict: artificial intelligence. U.S. Central Command simulated tens of thousands of attack scenarios until hours before executing the Iran strikes, providing commanders with optimal operational plans.

At the center of this war with AI serving as staff are American companies Palantir and Anthropic. Palantir's data platform Gotham integrates satellite imagery, reconnaissance reports, and communication records onto a single screen. Real-time graph-based target analysis visualizes enemy assets, command structures, and logistics trends.

Based on this, the system identified Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps military facilities and leadership hideouts. By fusing radar and drone data, it also found vulnerabilities in air defense networks. Anthropic's Claude reads intelligence gathered by Gotham and runs wargame scenario simulations, providing commanders with probabilistic diagrams of potential impacts for each attack situation, accelerating command decisions and the pace of warfare.

The most distinctive feature of this first-ever war with AI staff is the AI-led war room. Vast amounts of information including satellite imagery, signals intelligence, communications intercepts, reconnaissance reports, and historical operational data are processed at light speed. AI analyzes this information and formulates operational plans for presentation. Who possesses superior defense AI technology has emerged as the variable determining victory or defeat.

For example, AI identifies enemy forces and material locations. Ukraine's AI tactical program "GIS Arta" is a prime example. AI analyzes information collected from various sensors including drones and satellites to suggest optimal attack routes and positions. Ukraine used this technology to repel approximately 1,500 Russian troops and some 70 tanks attempting to cross the Siverskyi Donets River.

AI systems also played a role in striking enemies during the Gaza conflict. Israel used the AI target analysis system "Lavender" to identify low-level militants and analyze target priorities. The system narrowed down up to 37,000 Palestinian men with potential Hamas connections. The AI-based decision support system "Gospel" generated targets including buildings, weapons, and command facilities.

The time required from target discovery to final command decision in traditional military operations has been dramatically reduced through data integration and AI analysis. In the U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, AI staff went beyond mere utilization to active participation. AI is being used across all areas including intelligence collection and analysis, target selection, bombing plan development, battle damage assessment, and ammunition and war material movement and management.

AI even identifies specific aircraft and vehicle models from radar and selects and summarizes specific conversations from wiretap materials. On the front lines, soldiers use large language models like ChatGPT to issue commands such as "find all missile launchers near hospitals" or set alerts like "notify me if someone takes photos near this military base."

The core role above all is operational planning. Planning military attacks requires dozens of participants including intelligence officers, combat commanders, weapons specialists, and logistics personnel. Changes to operational plans affect deployed aircraft and weapons, flight plans, and fuel consumption. But AI can instantly calculate and simulate such plan changes with just variable inputs.

Thanks to these AI staff, the U.S. Air Force struck 1,000 targets within 24 hours of commencing operations. Compared to the first day of the Iraq War—the largest U.S. military operation of the 21st century—the scale was double. With military AI deployment, the speed of target strikes has also doubled.