Episode Description — The Twelve-Day War

In this episode of The War Lab we break down the short, sharp Iran-Israel Twelve-Day War of June 2025—a conflict that showed the world what 21st-century warfare really looks like. No trenches, no tanks, no drawn-out campaigns. Instead: AI-driven kill chains, swarms of drones and missiles, layered air defenses, and cyber strikes aimed at both military systems and civilian morale.

We make sense of the war through three core lenses:

• Israel’s AI-Driven Kill Chain — how algorithms, edge AI, and human-in-the-loop targeting gave Israel speed, precision, and the ability to dismantle Iran’s command structure and missile arsenal in days.

• Iran’s Asymmetric Retaliation — why Tehran relied on massed drone and missile saturation to try and overwhelm Israel’s defenses, and how even a 1% success rate can create outsized political impact.

• Multi-Layered Air Defense & Cognitive Warfare — how Israel’s Arrow, David’s Sling, and Iron Dome performed under saturation, why U.S. support was indispensable, and how the digital battlespace—from radar hacks to disinformation text messages—became just as decisive as missiles in the sky.

The lessons are clear: AI is now a decisive element of war, modern conflicts will be fought largely at standoff range, and vulnerabilities in missile defense economics and cyber resilience are driving the next arms race.

Tune in for an accessible, beginner-friendly guide to the technologies, tactics, and doctrines that defined the Twelve-Day War—and that will shape the wars of the future.