Ukraine uses drones with artificial intelligence to attack Russian energy facilities – CNN
Drones (Illustrative photo - EPA)

Ukraine uses drones with artificial intelligence to attack energy targets on Russian territories, reported CNN with reference to an unnamed interlocutor close to the Ukrainian drone program.

Such attacks aimed at Russian industry became possible thanks to the use of drones with a longer range and enhanced capabilities, in particular with integrated artificial intelligence.

Therefore, Ukrainian UAVs are better oriented in space and avoid obstacles on their way.

"Accuracy under jamming is enabled through the use of artificial intelligence. Each aircraft has a terminal computer with satellite and terrain data," the source explains.

The routes along which the drones fly are determined in advance together with the allies. The UAVs follow a precise flight plan to hit targets with one-meter accuracy, made possible by sensors in the drones, the news agency said.

"They have this thing called ‘machine vision,’ which is a form of AI. Basically you take a model and you have it on a chip and you train this model to identify geography and the target it is navigating to," said Noah Sylvia, an analyst at Royal United Services Institute, UK-based think tank.

Such drones are completely autonomous and do not require communication with satellites, he added.

On December 19, 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine will increase the production of UAVs to at least 1 million units.

Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said that Ukraine can produce 1 million drones in 2024 or more, if FPV drones are included.

On January 16, 2024, Fedorov said that thanks to the "Army of Drones" state project, the Ukrainian army received almost 20,000 trained UAV operators.

On February 5, the Digital Transformation Ministry said that this project will provide more than 1 million UAVs – these will be FPVs that will hit Russian armored vehicles and guns.