AI-guided drone swarms deployed in Ukraine and India-Pakistan conflicts
Ukraine and Pakistan deployed AI-guided drone swarms in military operations in June and May 2025 respectively. Ukraine attacked Russian airbases with cheap FPV drones on June 1, while Pakistan launched coordinated drone swarm attacks on Indian military and civilian targets across its western border for four days in May, causing damage and probing air defence vulnerabilities.", "event_date": "2025-05", "facts": [ { "claim": "On June 1, 2025, Ukraine bombed five airbases deep inside Russia using cheap First Person View (FPV) drones", "source_url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/drone-warfare-came-home-during-op-sindoor-where-does-india-stand-10061470" }, { "claim": "In May 2025, during hostilities in the wake of Operation Sindoor, Pakistan attacked towns and military facilities across India's western front from Baramulla to Barmer with swarm after swarm of relatively low cost, low tech drones for four straight days", "source_url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/drone-warfare-came-home-during-op-sindoor-where-does-india-stand-10061470" }, { "claim": "Pakistan's drone attacks were meant to overwhelm India's air defences, clutter radars, exhaust ammunition, gather intelligence, and probe for vulnerabilities", "source_url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/drone-warfare-came-home-during-op-sindoor-where-does-india-stand-10061470" } ] }
What happened
On June 1, 2025, Ukraine used cheap first-person view (FPV) drones to bomb five Russian airbases deep inside Russian territory.
In May 2025, during hostilities following Operation Sindoor, Pakistan attacked towns and military facilities across India's western front from Baramulla to Barmer with swarms of relatively low-cost, low-tech drones for four consecutive days.
Reported impact
Pakistan's drone swarm attacks were designed to inflict damage, overwhelm India's air defences, clutter radars, exhaust ammunition, gather intelligence, and probe for vulnerabilities in India's defence systems.
Index analysis
Both Ukraine's attacks on Russian airbases and Pakistan's attacks on Indian targets demonstrate the growing role of AI-enabled and swarming drones in modern asymmetric warfare.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.