Britain to Arm Ukraine with AI Drones Capable of Swarm Attacks

After the coalition of NATO countries declared the intention to strengthen Ukraine’s Defense Forces with one million drones within a year, the first details of this project began to emerge.

Considering that one million drones constitute a massive quantity, with the presence of a significant proportion being FPV or similar kamikaze drones among them, a crucial question arises: how to make them more effective. In light of this, the United Kingdom has started addressing the production of thousands of new kamikaze drones with artificial intelligence.

Western military strategists developing this technology believe that it can enable Ukraine to destroy specific russian positions. “The AI-enabled drones would be deployed in large fleets, communicating with each other to target enemy positions,” writes Bloomberg, citing its own sources.

While new drone capabilities do not replace the urgent need for shells, they may help mitigate some of that shortfall and create a new dynamic on the battlefield, the publication said.

However, this is where most of the specificity from this publication concludes.

Defense Express notes that discussions about the use of artificial intelligence elements, particularly machine vision starting from target autotracking, have been ongoing for quite some time, and there are already initial examples of such drones. Moreover, not only in Ukraine but also in russia.

Additionally, many serial loitering munitions in NATO countries have long had this function. Moreover, although there are no details regarding the specific functions of artificial intelligence to be integrated into drones, with a high degree of likelihood, the focus is on this direction.

Furthermore, as reported by the publication, such drones could be sent to Ukraine within months, although it is cautioned that the timeline could experience delays. As well, this means that artificial intelligence technology in these drones is quite mature and ready for mass production.

But the possibilities do not end there because there is another direction – a coordinated swarm attack. This is when drones interact automatically, exchange information about targets, and distribute them among themselves automatically or with minimal operator involvement.

Additionally, the mention that London is working with Washington on the issue of transferring advanced drones to Ukraine may be a reference to the American Golden Horde project, which is also dedicated to creating artificial intelligence systems for various classes of munitions.