Ukraine’s AI-Driven Drones: ‘Think We Created the Monster’
Stock photo. (Getty Images/MikeMareen)
A war that once transformed hobby drones into flying bombs is now doing the same for AI-powered killers. On Ukraine’s 800-mile front, both Kyiv and Moscow are deploying drones that can increasingly navigate, hunt, and strike with minimal human control—sometimes completing the final deadly moments of an attack on their own, according to the New York Times. Ukraine has become a live-fire testing ground where officials, arms makers, coders, and venture capitalists experiment with systems that automate parts of the “kill chain,” from navigation and target recognition to the final strike.
Among the most advanced is the Bumblebee, developed by a secretive startup backed by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. It can be directed at a target, cut off from its pilot, and still dive in to strike, even in the presence of heavy Russian signal-jamming. Ukrainian startups like NORDA Dynamics offer AI add-ons that allow inexpensive first-person-view drones to lock onto targets and complete strikes autonomously if radio connections fail. Sine Engineering’s Pasika system enables a single operator to control dozens of drones at once. Other companies are developing long-range drones that navigate without GPS, using computer vision to identify targets—oil tanks, air-defense radars, and potentially even individuals.
Russia is also deploying AI-enhanced drones and is increasingly concerned with capturing and studying Ukrainian technology. Developers and soldiers acknowledge the limitations: these weapons remain fragile, have short battery lives, and are often less precise than skilled human pilots. Many systems still rely on humans to select targets, though some can already strike soldiers autonomously. “I think we created the monster, and I’m not sure where it’s going to go,” one developer admits.
Critics warn that allowing machines to autonomously target humans crosses a “moral line,” threatening civilian protections. Kyiv’s engineers and foreign backers argue that AI drones are crucial for countering a larger Russian military, pointing to how “unbelievably unprepared” Western forces, including the United States, remain. Schmidt frames his involvement as humanitarian, suggesting that AI weapons could one day make large-scale ground invasions unnecessary. History offers a cautionary parallel: when Richard Gatling introduced his rapid-fire gun in the late 19th century, he claimed it could make massive armies—and war itself—obsolete.
Forbes examines how drones have evolved during Ukraine’s nearly four-year conflict, while The Guardian remains wary of what AI-driven drones could mean for global security.
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