In a bid to gain a technological edge in battle, a handful of Ukrainian startups are developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems to pilot a vast fleet of drones, taking warfare into uncharted territory. Ukraine aims to deploy AI-enabled drones along the front line to counteract increasing signal jamming by the Russians and to enable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to operate in larger, more coordinated groups.
The development of AI drones in Ukraine is largely focused on three areas: visual systems for target identification and precision strikes, terrain mapping for navigation, and advanced programs that allow UAVs to function in interconnected “swarms.”
One notable player in this field is Swarmer, a company creating software to link drones in a network. This technology allows for rapid decision-making across the group, with human intervention required only to authorize automated strikes.
“When you try to scale up (with human pilots), it just doesn’t work,” Swarmer CEO Serhiy Kupriienko told Reuters from the company’s Kyiv offices. “For a swarm of 10 or 20 drones or robots, it’s virtually impossible for humans to manage them.”
Swarmer is among over 200 tech firms that have emerged since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. These firms, often founded by civilians with IT backgrounds, are developing drones and other technologies to help Ukraine counter a significantly larger adversary.