Amos Chapple
(RFE/RL) — A dystopian future in which swarms of killer drones hunt for human targets is drawing closer, but fully autonomous AI drones remain an elusive technology, at least on the battlefields of Ukraine.
“The issue of correct identification of enemy targets by drones still remains,” says a spokesperson at Brave1, a Ukrainian government organization involved in the development of military technology.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has fueled rapid advancement of drone technology that has enabled cheap, bomb-carrying quadcopters to take out targets worth millions of dollars. But in the arms race between drones and radio “jammers” that interrupt the signal between a drone and its controller, those defensive measures appear to be winning.
Ukrainian drone pilots are reported to be losing thousands of drones per month to Russian jamming devices. Russia’s recent use of a wire-guided drone indicates the invading army is also struggling to overcome electronic warfare systems.
Some developers in Ukraine are focused on swarming drone systems that allow one pilot to fly multiple weaponized drones as one, but the top priority for Ukrainian drone developers is “minimizing the impact of electronic warfare,” according to Brave1.
“Drones equipped with AI-assisted targeting modules do not require a connection to the operator during the engagement phase,” the Brave1 spokesperson told RFE/RL. “The operator locks onto the target, then the AI takes over the targeting process independently, making it immune to enemy electronic warfare interference.”
Such semi-autonomous drones could negate jamming measures. Once the AI tracking system takes over, the drone can cut its vulnerable radio signal between the drone and its controller and make its own “decisions.”
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