The war in Ukraine is accelerating the development of AI warfare. The first successful use of an autonomous drone is now believed to have taken place.
The information and video were first posted by Serhii Sternenko on X. "Our drones have evolved and are now capable of hitting targets almost autonomously," says Sternenko, a right-wing activist, lawyer, and YouTuber, according to Wikipedia.
The video shows a drone hitting a Russian tank despite active electronic warfare suppression. According to the post, the drone was flown near the tank by a human before the connection was broken by electronic defenses.
Normally this would be the end of the drone, but in this case, autonomous capabilities took over and guided the drone to the target. It is not known exactly what technology was used.
What is certain is that this is not the only project in Ukraine: a few weeks ago, there were reports of a company conducting initial tests with autonomous attack drones.
Russia is also developing lethal autonomous drones
According to Sternenko, however, this is the first successful use of such technology on the battlefield. He now wants to raise money to buy more than 1,000 additional drones and develop the technology further. Russia has been testing similar technology for more than a month, he said.
Small drones armed with explosives are a common threat in the war in Ukraine; soldiers rely on electronic defense systems, shotguns, and cover over trenches and bunker entrances to protect themselves. Drones able to penetrate these electronic defenses by continuing to fly despite jamming could attack vehicles and critical infrastructure that would otherwise have limited protection.