The Russian army tested an experimental autonomous drone with artificial intelligence, which was controlled by artificial intelligence without the participation of an operator, during a strike on a gas station in Zaporizhia. The explosion killed three civilians in the city, including a 19-year-old student at Zaporizhia National University.
The Russian army tested an experimental autonomous drone with artificial intelligence, which was controlled by artificial intelligence without the participation of an operator, during a strike on a gas station in Zaporizhia. The explosion killed three civilians in the city, including a 19-year-old student at Zaporizhia National University.
This was reported by The New York Times, citing Ukrainian military commanders, UAV experts, and the results of an examination of the wreckage.
The investigation revealed that the drone was pre-programmed to fly to the area of a gas station, but it chose the exact target for the strike — likely propane tanks. The enemy used an Nvidia Jetson Orin computing module for autonomous guidance. This is one of the first confirmed cases of civilian deaths due to the use of a fully autonomous AI weapon.
According to Ukrainian experts, the Nvidia module was not encrypted, which allowed for analysis of its contents. The device’s memory contained downloaded images of terrain for visual navigation, as well as code with target templates that the algorithms were trained to recognize (including propane tanks).
«This is a risk for the whole world. In a few years we will live like in the movie „Terminator“. This is not a joke. Machines make decisions about strikes,» said the commander of the Zaporizhzhia air defense, Colonel Serhiy Minayev.
Analysts note that Nvidia Jetson Orin chips are civilian products costing from several hundred dollars. Despite the ban on direct supplies to the Russian Federation, the occupiers purchase them through networks of intermediaries.
The drones involved in this series of attacks flew in a group, did not emit radio signals, and did not have communication antennas, making it impossible to intercept control or suppress the communication channel using electronic warfare (EW) means.
Previously, both Russia and Ukraine have used elements of artificial intelligence mainly in the so-called «last mile» — when a human pilot selects a target and an algorithm guides the drone in case of signal loss. However, tests of fully autonomous systems, such as the Russian Molniya and V2U UAVs, exclude humans from the decision-making chain.
