Armed drone-on-drone violence documented in Ukraine

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

TIME TO ADD A COUPLE MORE ENTRIES TO THE LIST OF MILITARY FIRSTS FROM THE WAR IN UKRAINE. ON MARCH 29, THIS VIDEO WAS CAPTURED SHOWING WHAT COULD BE THE FIRST RECORDED COMBAT BETWEEN AN ARMED UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE AND ARMED UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLE.

THE VIDEO, POSTED TO TELEGRAM, DOCUMENTS AN ENCOUNTER SOUTH OF AVDIIVKA BETWEEN TWO RUSSIAN GROUND DRONES AND UKRAINIAN FPV AERIAL DRONES. THE RUSSIAN UGVs APPEAR TO BE IMMOBILIZED WHILE UKRAINIAN FPVs HAMMER AWAY, EVENTUALLY DESTROYING THE DEVICES.

THE RUSSIAN UGVs LOOKED LIKE THEY WERE ARMED WITH AUTOMATIC GRENADE LAUNCHERS, LIKE THE ONES SEEN HERE. THE AGS-17 WAS DEVELOPED DURING THE SOVIET ERA AND KNOWN FOR ITS FIREPOWER. SO, ANYTIME THEY’RE ON THE BATTLEFIELD THEY COMMAND ATTENTION.

THE ANALYSTS AT ARMY RECOGNITION SAY THIS HISTORICAL MOMENT OF THE FIRST CONFLICT BETWEEN ARMED GROUND AND AERIAL DRONES SHOWCASES THE FLEXIBILITY THE TECHNOLOGY NOW BRINGS TO THE BATTLEFIELD, AND FURTHER SIGNIFIES THE SHIFT TOWARDS MORE AUTONOMOUS FORMS OF COMBAT.

AND SPEAKING OF FIRSTS AND AUTONOMY, UKRAINE’S ARMED FORCES ARE NOW FLYING FPV DRONES WITH AUTO-TARGETING CAPABILITIES. ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT ADVANCEMENT IN MODERN WARFARE.

IN MUCH OF THE FPV DRONE VIDEOS WE SEE FROM UKRAINE, THE VIDEO FEED GOES TO STATIC BEFORE IMPACT. THAT’S BECAUSE THE DRONE LOSES LINE-OF-SIGHT CONNECTION WITH ITS OPERATORS, OR THE DRONE WAS SUCCESSFULLY JAMMED WITH ELECTRONIC COUNTERMEASURES. EITHER WAY, THE LAST PART OF THE ATTACK IS MORE OR LESS GUESSING WHERE THE TARGET WILL BE AND HOPING FOR A HIT.

BUT THIS VIDEO FROM UKRAINE’S 60TH AND 63RD MECHANIZED BRIGADES APPEARS TO SHOW AN FPV DRONE STILL HITTING ITS TARGET LONG AFTER THE VIDEO FEED DROPPED OUT, INDICATING THE DRONE WAS GUIDED TO ITS FINAL DESTINATION WITH THE HELP OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. TAKING THE HUMAN OUT OF THE LOOP.

WHILE MUCH OF THE REST OF THE WORLD IS STILL DEBATING HOW DRONES AND AI SHOULD BE USED IN WARFARE, UKRAINE AND RUSSIA ARE CREATING POLICY ON THE FLY IN REAL TIME.

OF COURSE, WE SHOULD SORT OF EXPECT THIS FROM THE UKRAINE WAR; THE FIRST MAJOR ARMED CONFLICT IN EUROPE IN 25 YEARS. SINCE THE WAR BROKE OUT, THE USE OF DRONES DEVELOPED DRAMATICALLY FAST. AERIAL DRONES NOW DEAL MORE DAMAGE FOR UKRAINE THAN TRADITIONAL ARTILLERY. UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLES WENT FROM SIMPLE MUNITIONS MULES AND MINE LAYERS TO FULL-ON ATTACK PLATFORMS, AND UKRAINE’S SEA BABY DRONES FORCED RUSSIA’S BLACK SEA FLEET TO FLEE THE BLACK SEA.

NONE OF THIS IS GOING UNNOTICED, EITHER. THE UNITED STATES AND PLENTY OF OTHER MILITARIES ARE ADAPTING THEIR OWN TECHNIQUES AND FUTURE WEAPONS ACQUISITIONS BASED ON THE LESSONS LEARNED IN UKRAINE.