Israel reportedly used a swarm of drones to locate and attack Hamas targets during the 11 day conflict that broke out in May.
The Israeli Defense Forces employed artificial intelligence to identify and strike targets in the Gaza Strip, according to a report from the New Scientist, which alleged it may be the first time a drone swarm has been used in combat.
Drone swarms have been characterized as the next phase of war fighting, whereby "hundreds of drones that integrate their actions using emergent behavior."
"By exploiting the swarm’s ability to rapidly concentrate through maneuver, it becomes possible to mass effect at hundreds of points simultaneously," as noted in a U.S. Air Force report. "The advantage this provides is the ability to conduct … a parallel attack, but at an unprecedented scale."
As previously reported by Fox News, drone systems have been acquired by U.S. adversaries including Russia, China and Iran. The U.S. has identified that trend as a "rapidly evolving challenge."
Not only can the technology provide enhanced surveillance capability, but it can also present precision strike capability, direct attacks using small munitions, laser designation for indirect fires and deploy chemical agents, as noted in a Department of Defense report.
Ever since a shaky ceasefire was brokered in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas on May 21, there have been several outbursts of violence.
Over the weekend, Israel launched an airstrike against Hamas in response to incendiary balloon launches.