In Ukraine, swarms of drones are being used against the occupiers, which themselves find and destroy targets – WSJ

The Ukrainian military has begun using drone swarm technology, which allows drones to autonomously coordinate attacks without direct operator control, The Wall Street Journal reports.

According to the Ukrainian company Swarmer, which developed the corresponding software, the drones are able to independently determine the order of attack, adapt to changes, for example, if the battery of one of the devices is discharged, and perform tasks as part of a group. This technology is a new stage in drone warfare, as it can allow dozens or thousands of devices to be launched simultaneously to break through the defenses of an enemy target - from a single object to a city.

A recent operation conducted by our military at night involved three drones that independently decided when to attack a Russian position. According to Serhii Kuprienko, CEO of Swarmer, at the beginning of the mission, the operator transmits the target search area to the drone system and gives the command to attack it upon detection.

Then the drones do everything themselves: one conducts reconnaissance, finds the target and plots a route to it. The other drones then attack it, independently determining the moment of dropping ammunition. It is noted that the attack is carried out by large quadcopters capable of dropping 25 small bombs, or grenades, along the trench line.

The company's software allows you to reduce the number of people involved: instead of nine operators in normal mode, with the Swarmer system, three are enough - a planner, a navigator, and an operator.

A Ukrainian military officer who uses Swarmer technology said his unit has used it more than a hundred times. Three drones are typically used, but other units have launched up to eight at a time. The testing has been conducted with groups of up to 25 drones. Swarmer is also preparing to test a swarm of 100 drones.

The use of a swarm avoids signal interference from the enemy, as the drones coordinate with each other at close range.

There are also some downsides to this technology. In particular, the use of artificial intelligence in combat situations raises concerns that automated systems can independently make decisions that affect the life or death of both military personnel and civilians.

Also, using drones with such a system makes them more expensive, which may negatively affect their mass purchase. In addition, there are some problems with the Swarmer software. According to the Ukrainian officer, at a certain stage the drones exchanged too much information, which overloaded their network.

The technology was first used by the Defense Forces for mining about a year ago. However, it is now increasingly being used to strike Russian military personnel, equipment, and infrastructure.