The Gaza campaign has distinguished itself from all previous conflicts as the first battlefield where robots, drones, sensors, and artificial intelligence have fought alongside human soldiers. Military experts widely acknowledge that the unprecedented integration of these cutting-edge solutions during active combat has fundamentally transformed warfare dynamics, denying enemy forces critical advantages while preserving soldiers' lives and contributing significantly to operational success. Beyond established defense contractors, the conflict has revealed an extensive ecosystem of defense technology startups whose innovations have been deployed at scale across the combat zone.
Roboteam stands among these pioneering companies, specializing in tactical robots designed for reconnaissance and combat engineering operations. The firm's MTGR robot has seen extensive deployment throughout Gaza Strip operations, conducting missions inside Hamas tunnel systems while detecting concealed openings, explosive traps, and improvised devices, and establishing communication networks in hostile territory.
Company founder and CEO Yossi Wolf, speaking with Israel Hayom, characterizes the technological transformation as revolutionary. "Previously, unmanned systems for air and ground operations represented unfulfilled potential. While pilot programs existed, these platforms never achieved the operational scale witnessed in this conflict. Gaza represents a globally unprecedented campaign where robotics and AI became fundamental combat elements," Wolf explained.
Wolf emphasizes the technological dimension's decisive impact on battlefield outcomes. "These capabilities have proven to be definitive game-changers in asymmetric warfare scenarios. We're deploying systems that never experience fatigue, continuously generate vast data streams, and maintain near-absolute spatial awareness. These capabilities have eliminated safe havens for enemy forces," he noted.
From Afghanistan to Gaza
Israeli Air Force veterans Yossi Wolf and Elad Levi established Roboteam in 2010 with the mission of developing tactical robots capable of replacing frontline soldiers while minimizing human casualties during reconnaissance and combat engineering operations.
The company's primary platform, the MTGR tactical ground robot, weighs 13 kilograms (29 pounds) and maintains soldier-portable dimensions. Engineers designed the system to navigate challenging environments, including multi-story buildings, staircases, drainage systems, and underground tunnels. The robot features a manipulator arm capable of explosive ordnance disposal, door breaching, and sample collection while providing real-time intelligence before combat forces enter hazardous areas.
The company's 2010 founding coincided with the deadliest year for American forces in Afghanistan, where approximately 371 soldiers died from improvised explosive devices while countless others sustained severe injuries. Afghanistan became the MTGR's inaugural operational deployment. The platform rapidly entered US Army service, with Roboteam securing designation as the primary tactical ground robot supplier for the US Marine Corps. The company has delivered more than 1,200 units to date, generating approximately $150 million in total revenue.
Wolf describes the Afghan experience as foundational. "Afghan insurgents mastered sophisticated trap placement across road junctions, drainage channels, vertical shafts, and tunnel networks, inflicting substantial American casualties. Our Gaza deployment was built upon Afghanistan's operational lessons. The US Army leads global military robotics evaluation, standardization, and adoption processes. American military pilot programs typically involve substantial procurement volumes, enabling companies like ours to achieve commercial viability and critical operational mass," Wolf observed.
"Gaza's tactical robot requirements originated from field commanders, but Defense Ministry leadership eliminated bureaucratic obstacles and facilitated rapid solution integration within combat units during active operations. This created extraordinary synergy between operational forces and defense technology providers," he added.
From Fortnite to the battlefield
Operational simplicity represents another factor accelerating solution adoption during current combat operations. These robotic systems demonstrate extremely high autonomous operation levels, earning the designation as "automatically guided robots" (AGR). Operators need not manually control or navigate these platforms, instead issuing mission-specific directives. Self-recovery capabilities enable automatic repositioning following vehicle rollovers, while advanced environmental awareness and spatial comprehension systems maintain operational effectiveness. User interfaces deliberately mirror civilian gaming console designs.
Wolf details the civilian technology integration approach. "These platforms incorporate commercial sector innovations. Our robot operates through gaming console-style control stations. The system performs most functions independently while presenting comprehensive information through intuitive user displays. Younger soldiers arrive with existing gaming familiarity and adopt these tools instinctively, requiring minimal formal training," he explained.
The AI era and robot fleets
Roboteam has expanded its product portfolio in recent years, developing five additional robot variants across different size categories for specialized mission requirements. "This represents an exceptionally demanding technical challenge. Robots must function under extreme physical conditions while remaining operator-friendly under combat stress. Performance expectations are extraordinarily high with zero tolerance for system failures. However, when our robot takes a bullet or explodes, it's a good feeling because it saved a soldier's life," Wolf stated.
Wolf predicts artificial intelligence will exponentially expand these systems' capabilities while completely restructuring future battlefield dynamics. "We're implementing AI across all operational levels, from individual robot platforms through user interfaces to data processing systems. AI enables management of significantly increased complexity levels. Operators can conduct natural language conversations with robots, issue verbal commands, and receive spoken responses," he described.
Wolf envisions future battlefields populated by substantially more robots and correspondingly fewer human soldiers. "The next evolutionary phase involves coordinated robot fleet operations, with multiple platforms collaborating on unified missions including area security, personnel screening, and similar tasks. Similar to civilian applications, AI enables expanded mission capabilities. This will permit reduced soldier deployments while minimizing human exposure to combat risks," he concluded.
