India, Sept. 20 -- The next revolution in warfare may not arrive in the form of a fighter aircraft, missile or conventional drone. It could emerge from machines so small that they resemble insects. Israel's growing interest in bio-inspired robotics, micro-drones, autonomous systems and artificial intelligence points towards a battlefield where intelligence gathering is no longer confined to aircraft flying overhead.

Future military operations could involve tiny machines capable of flying through narrow openings, crawling across rubble, navigating tunnels and operating inside environments that remain inaccessible to conventional platforms. The idea of a "cockroach drone" may sound like science fiction, but research into cockroach-like rob...