Russia attempts to integrate AI into Shahed kamikaze drones for swarm attacks
Russia is reportedly attempting to integrate artificial intelligence into Shahed kamikaze drones to enable autonomous swarm coordination and attacks that can evade Ukrainian air defences. Ukrainian officials said Russia produces hundreds of these drones weekly, and the technology's practical effectiveness remains uncertain.
What happened
According to The Guardian, Russia is attempting to integrate artificial intelligence into Shahed kamikaze drones to create drone swarms that can communicate and coordinate attacks to evade Ukrainian air defences.
A source from the Ukrainian government told The Guardian that Russia produces hundreds of Shahed drones per week.
Reported impact
The integration of AI into Shahed drones is intended to help the weapons overcome Ukrainian air defences through coordinated autonomous attacks.
Ukraine reported that on 24 November 2024, occupying forces attacked the capital with strike drones, and Ukrainian forces intercepted over a dozen drones, though damage occurred to an industrial facility from debris of destroyed drones.
Index analysis
The effectiveness of this AI technology for swarm coordination remains unclear, according to The Guardian.
Ukraine is developing countermeasures including inexpensive first-person-view (FPV) drones costing up to $1000, though the turbulent airflow generated by Shahed drones significantly affects piloting smaller FPV drones.
Governance controls
Ukraine created an air defence headquarters on 19 November and announced measures to strengthen air defence over Kyiv and other regional centres.
On 11 November, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced an increase in mobile fire groups and a comprehensive programme to protect against Russian aerial bombs.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.