JERUSALEM, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Israel and the United States concluded Thursday a joint navy drill in the Red Sea to exercise the use of artificial intelligence during naval combat, Israel's military said in a statement.

Taking place in the gulf of Eilat in southern Israel, the so-called "Digital Shield" exercise involved soldiers and officers from the Israeli Navy and the U.S. Fifth Fleet, a naval U.S. force in the Middle East, said the statement.

"Manned vessels of the Israeli Navy, troops from the 915th Fleet and the 'Snapir' Unit operated alongside unmanned vessels of the U.S. Fifth Fleet's Task Force 59," the military said.

The purpose of the exercise was to strengthen "cooperation between the militaries and constructing a shared understanding of the maritime domain as well as using artificial intelligence as part of the operational toolbox," the military said.