How Ukraine uses cheap AI-guided drones to deadly effect against Russia
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A HUNDRED METRES above a white Lada saloon, the drone locks onto its target: red lights blink to blue. AI takes over and the drone swoops in for its kill.
The Lada is spared at the last moment, with the drone just two metres away. The mission is a test conducted in a field outside Kyiv to fine tune the system. But the technology is already being deployed by dozens of Ukrainian units on the front line.
“It’s the best feeling to see your drone enter a tiny opening in an enemy trench," says Denys, an engineer at The Fourth Law, the Ukrainian firm which makes these autonomous drones. “I used to be a pacifist, but Russia’s war has stripped me of that privilege." Ukraine’s drone war is evolving rapidly. Once a cheap answer to Russia’s artillery dominance, Ukrainian small and inexpensive Read more of our recent coverage of the Ukraine war They are carrying more explosives and flying farther per dollar, says Andrey Liscovich of the Ukraine Defence Fund, which crowdsources non-lethal aid.
When FPVs were introduced at scale at the beginning of 2023 they could fly 10km or so, notes Yaroslav Filimonov, the CEO of Kvertus, a Ukrainian firm which makes anti-drone gear. Now 30km flights are routine, thanks to more powerful antennae and signal-repeater drones that let them communicate with base stations from greater distances. They are becoming more diverse, too.
Large “bomber" drones scatter 10kg landmines on Russian supply roads. FPV “interceptor" drones have now taken out more than 850 Russian surveillance drones in the air, according to Tochnyi, a research group, easing the burden on the country’s air-defence missile stocks and undermining Russia’s ability to co-ordinate strikes. The biggest
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