🔗 Share this article

"Such innovation represents the coming danger," cautions Serhiy Beskrestnov, that has just acquired a newly intercepted enemy unmanned aerial vehicle.

This proved to be far from typical drone either, it was revealed. Powered by artificial intelligence, this drone is able to find and attack objectives on its own.

The consultant has inspected many drones in his role as Ukrainian defence forces consultant.

Unlike previous versions, the drone didn't send or receive communications, so be impossible to be jammed.

Both sides' militaries have both been testing AI in the conflict, and in some areas they are already using it, to assist in finding targets, intelligence collection and de-mining.

For the Ukrainian army, AI has become essential.

"The armed forces gets more than 50,000 footage feeds [from the front line] every month that get processed by AI," states Ukraine's defense official.

"This helps us rapidly process huge volumes of information, identify targets and mark them on a digital chart."

AI-Empowered Technology as a Critical Tool

AI-enhanced technology is regarded as a instrument that can enhance military strategy, make the most of resources and in the end save lives.

However regarding unmanned weapons systems, it's transforming the battlefield.

Ukrainian soldiers already use AI-based systems so that unmanned aircraft lock on a objective and subsequently fly autonomously for the last few hundred metres until the mission concludes.

Signal disruption is impossible and shooting down such tiny airborne device proves difficult.

Ultimately these systems will likely become completely independent armaments that can detect and eliminate targets on their own.

An operator must do is press a icon on a smartphone app, notes a tech executive, chief executive of Ukrainian tech company.

It will do everything else, according to him, locating the objective, dropping explosives, evaluating the damage and then coming back to headquarters.

"And it would not even require piloting skills from the user," he adds.

Defensive Systems and Future Developments

Interceptor drones with such autonomous capability could significantly enhance air defences targeting Russian long-range attack drones, such as the infamous certain models.

"An AI-driven autonomous system is superior to a human in numerous aspects," explains Azhnyuk. "It can be more perceptive. It detects the target sooner than a human can. It is more agile."

The official indicates such a technology does not exist yet, but he mentions Ukraine is nearing finishing its creation. "We have partially integrated it in some devices," says the deputy defence minister.

There could even be many thousands of these technologies in place by the end of 2026, predicts Azhnyuk.

Cautions and Risks of Full Independence

However Local creators are wary of completely relying on defence systems that rely entirely on AI, with no human involvement. The danger is AI might not distinguish a Ukrainian soldier from a Russian one, since both could be wearing the same uniform, says an engineer, who declined to give his surname.

His company produces remote-operated machine guns, that employ artificial intelligence to automatically detect individuals and follow them. Due to worries about friendly fire, he says they don't have an auto-fire option.

"It can be activated, but we must get more experience and more feedback from the ground forces in order to understand when it is safe to employ this capability."

Moral Concerns and International Regulations

There are also concerns that automated systems will violate the laws of armed conflict. How will they avoid harming non-combatants, or tell apart personnel who wish to yield?

According to the official, the ultimate choice in these cases should rest with a human, although AI could make it "simpler to choose". But it's not certain that states or militant factions will follow global humanitarian standards.

Therefore neutralizing these systems is increasingly important.

How do you stop a "mass of unmanned craft" when jamming or using aircraft, armored vehicles or rockets proves useless?

Ukraine's highly successful "Web" mission, when 100 drones attacked enemy military airports in June, was probably assisted by artificial intelligence.

Many in Ukraine worry that Moscow will copy this approach, not just on the front line but beyond it as well.

The country's president warned the United Nations last month that AI was contributing to "the most destructive weapons competition in history."

He urged global rules for the use of AI in armaments, and said the issue was "just as urgent as stopping the proliferation of nuclear weapons."