In 2024, AI solutions will become crucial for the defense sector, in particular through the integration of machine vision into drones and ground platforms. Most of these developments are from Ukrainian manufacturers.
In 2024, AI solutions will become crucial for the defense sector, in particular through the integration of machine vision into drones and ground platforms. Most of these developments are from Ukrainian manufacturers.
Last year, everything was developing around machine vision-based guidance, said Deputy Head of the Ministry of Digital Affairs Oleksandr Bornyakov in an interview with "24 Channel". This technology allows drones and ground robots to automatically aim at a target after its operator captures it and more accurately hit objects on the battlefield. According to him, the state has already begun purchasing such drones and testing them.
In addition to drones, machine vision is also being integrated into ground-based robotic platforms. There are automated turrets that are guided to targets within a certain perimeter and operate in a given sector.
"In parallel with the integration of artificial intelligence into hardware, the trend towards the development of AI-based information systems continues. Artificial intelligence helps to remotely detect mines, collect and analyze data from the battlefield, and track Russian propaganda," Bornyakov added.
Today, 90% of such technological developments are from Ukrainian manufacturers, says Bornyakov. Currently, more than 200 developments from more than 70 developers are registered on the Brave1 cluster platform. More than 70 solutions are already used by the military.
At the same time, foreign developers are also joining in. Many ready-made developments are offered by German partners. Bornyakov also gives the example of an American manufacturer that is working on a drone system that allows you to control several "birds" simultaneously.
For example, the Ukrainian company ZIR System has developed an artificial intelligence system for drones , which allows you to automatically recognize enemy targets and target them. Thanks to the Avengers artificial intelligence platform, the Defense Forces automatically detect 12,000 units of enemy equipment every week. The developers of the TGP turret showed the lightweight Wolly combat module with AI in the spring.
The American television channel CNN previously reported on Ukrainian drones with AI, which successfully struck the Russian energy industry.
In 2025, it is expected that Ukraine will have full-fledged systems for uniting drones into groups - "swarms". Ukraine already has such developments, but currently they group 10-15 drones. In the future, this could be about 100 "birds".
We are talking about combining not only drones, but also ground and aircraft. These will be not only FPV, but also reconnaissance drones that will communicate with ground platforms, says the Deputy Head of the Ministry of Digital Affairs.
Drones will inform ground platforms about targets that are invisible to robots due to terrain features. The platform will then move in a given direction or independently aim at the object. At the same time, drones in the air distribute targets among themselves and operate autonomously within a certain square.
Among Ukrainian AI developments for uniting drones into groups is an AI system called Styx from Ukrainian startup Swarmer , which manages a network of reconnaissance and strike drones.
The military's testing of the "Drone Mother", which helps launch a "swarm of drones", was reported in the spring by the commander of the "Birds of the Magyar" unit, Robert "Magyar" Brody.
Before the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, the issue of using artificial intelligence in defense was not among the priorities, Bornyakov says. At NATO meetings held two years ago, this topic was just beginning to be discussed, and the partners did not have ready-made solutions.
"If it weren't for the military operations in Ukraine, the use of artificial intelligence in the military sphere could begin only in a few years. Before the great war, there were no serious conversations among generals about the practical use of AI, for example, for perimeter protection. No one believed in such technologies," says the Deputy Head of the Ministry of Digital Affairs.
