Ukraine says using AI robot guns to shoot down new Russian drones

KYIV: Ukraine has begun using artificial intelligence-enabled robot guns to take down Russia's new and fast-moving jet-powered drones, the Ukrainian air force said Monday (Oct 5).

For months, Kyiv has been seeking new ways to intercept the new Russian drones pounding the Ukrainian capital as it faces a dire lack of suitable ammunition to take them out.

Russia's newer jet-powered drones move faster and are harder to intercept than the traditional models, which are based on Iranian Shahed drones.

As part of Ukraine's efforts to respond, "robotic turrets are now being installed on bridges", air force spokesman colonel Yuri Ignat told national television.

"There have already been shoot-downs" of the drones, including the bigger, faster and more powerful Geran-5 version, he told national television.

Speaking to AFP, Ignat explained that the new turrets, which have been seen by AFP journalists in the Ukrainian capital, use "optical vision and artificial intelligence to eliminate the human factor and deliver strikes".

Sergiy Beskrestnov, a technology adviser to the Ukrainian president, explained on Telegram over the weekend that the new automated turrets were "an innovative Ukrainian solution that shoots down (drones) using machine guns controlled by artificial intelligence".

He said that 12 of the turrets had been installed in Kyiv, adding that "more turrets will be installed in the future".

NOT A PANACEA

Ignat acknowledged that the new system had a small operating radius.

"It can operate at about one kilometre plus. And it works when conditions are favourable, when the attack approach angle is suitable," he told AFP.

"This is not some kind of panacea," he said, stressing that the turrets were part of "an integrated air defence system that provides engagement of these targets at different tiers".

"Of course we rely on all available assets."

Ignat said that currently, most of the work against jet-powered drones "is actually done by aviation".

"Because they fly high, they fly fast, it's the fighters that can catch them, especially the F-16s," he explained, adding that some pilots could "sometimes shoot down more than 10 Shaheds in a single sortie".

But the pilots were often forced to use aircraft cannons against drones, "because there are no missiles, (or) there are very, very few", he lamented.

Ukraine, which has repeatedly sought more support to fend off Russia since its full-scale invasion began in 2022, has been accelerating the integration of artificial intelligence into its defence capabilities.

It is already using the technology on the frontlines to guide drones, detect targets for strikes and coordinate large-scale operations.