2024-07-31 08:10:29
Ukrainian developers are working on a revolutionary technology that could change the rules of combat. Swarms of unmanned aircraft should be controlled by artificial intelligence in the future using the upcoming Styx system. The soldiers of the occupied countries are already using it in attacks beyond the borders of Russia.
Air combat in Ukraine may be dominated by artificial intelligence. It could control hundreds of drones at once. | Video: Reuters
When programming drones, Ukrainian developers focus on several functions that have helped the military on the battlefield since the start of the war. For example, they improve visual systems that allow machines to identify targets or allow soldiers to map the terrain and better navigate the battlefield. However, more complex programs, which startup companies are now investing in, should soon allow drones to operate in larger groups.
The army of an occupied country has not yet been able to send larger swarms of drones to the battlefield. “If one human pilot were to control a larger group at the same time, it simply wouldn’t work,” Swarmer CEO Serhij Kuprijenko told Reuters.
The company behind it is developing a program that can network multiple drones so that they can fly and attack in groups automatically. “We call this fighting style ‘swarming’. It is the ability of group coordination, immediate joint response and adaptation to changes on the battlefield based on common robotic perception,” says Kuprijenko. When using it, the soldier would interfere with swarm control only if there was a need to approve a potential attack on the target.
Swarmer is one of more than 200 tech companies that have sprung up since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Her team includes experts from the IT industry who are dedicated to development to help Kyiv face the enemy.
The company’s system, called Styx, will be able to control swarms of reconnaissance and attack drones of various sizes. According to Kuprijenko, each aircraft should be able to plan its own movements and predict the behavior of the other machines in the group based on artificial intelligence. In addition, automation is intended to help protect human pilots, who now operate close to the front line and are thus the main target of enemy fire.
“There were 25 drones approaching your position and you hit them all. That was one story. And it’s another story when you hit the first drone and every other drone just changes trajectory and attacks you from different directions. That’s what it does ‘swarming’ so powerful and scary at the same time,” says the head of developers, adding that while human pilots have trouble operating more than five drones at the same time, AI will be able to control hundreds of them.
Swarmer technology is still under development, and so far the army has only used it experimentally in the fighting in Ukraine. In the war between Moscow and Kiev, however, it does not have a full premiere. The software already controls, for example, groups of long-range drones that attack military installations and oil refineries across Russia’s borders. According to a Reuters source, these operations sometimes involve a swarm of around twenty drones.
Those lead drones will first fly to the target to guide the other planes to where to destroy or scatter the enemy’s air defenses. Here, too, the artificial intelligence is overseen by a human who helps identify targets or threats and plan possible routes.
It is increasingly urgent that drones that can navigate independently in space be equipped with artificial intelligence. Both sides of the conflict use electronic systems that disrupt the signal between pilots and drones. A soldier who controls a drone often loses the image transmission from the machine’s camera.
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