The russian federation has started equipping some of its Shahed-136 long-range kamikaze drones with elements of artificial intelligence, according to reports from two Western media outlets citing high-ranking Ukrainian officials.
In particular, The Guardian recently wrote, referencing unnamed "Ukrainian military sources," that russia is integrating AI to enable "drone swarms," allowing the Shaheds to coordinate attacks and breach air defenses.
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Similarly, Politico quoted Vsevolod Chentsov, Ukraine's representative to the European Union, who stated that russian forces are employing AI in Shahed drones to counter Ukrainian electronic warfare systems by using autonomous navigation. These drones, he explained, are also programmed to identify and target objects resembling power plants.

Defense Express notes that while the described AI applications differ in purpose, both are feasible using existing technologies. For instance, drones recognizing pre-learned targets, described by the Ukrainian diplomat,is essentially what is commonly called "machine vision" in the Ukrainian war context. From a technical standpoint, identifying a tank or self-propelled gun is no different from recognizing energy infrastructure targets.
Next, the claim that these drones can operate independently of satellite navigation when disrupted by electronic warfare suggests the integration of the Ukrainian version of DSMAC (Digital Scene Matching Area Correlation).
The Ukrainian iteration of this system, already utilized in domestically made long-range drones, is not much different from machine vision. However, instead of identifying target outlines, a drone equipped with this type of guidance navigates by matching terrain landmarks.
Both approaches require drones to be fitted with cameras. Here, coincidentally, we can remember that on December 23, Ukraine's Defense Intelligence reported a successful operation at the Alabuga industrial zone in russia, where a warehouse storing Shahed components was destroyed. Among the ruined materials were thermal imaging cameras intended for 400 drones.
In general, russia’s plans to equip its long-range killer drones with cameras have been known since January 2024, following a large-scale leak of classified documents from the russian Special Technology Center LLC. These suspicions were further confirmed in September when russia showcased a drone prototype fitted with cameras.

While the russians mentioned "operator-guided target selection," the addition of machine vision software could eliminate the need for human input and reduce reliance on stable operator connections.
Additionally, "Ukrainian military sources" have observed another technology used not only in Shahed-136 drones but also in Gerbera drones: mesh modems. These devices allow drones to exchange data, forming a flexible network where each drone acts as a signal repeater.
Operators can program these drones to share their position data, status, and alert each other. For example, if a drone is affected by electronic warfare or shot down, it can signal others in the swarm to avoid this area.

Ultimately, the eventual emergence of these technologies in the Shahed drones was all but a matter of time.
This way, the war in Ukraine is about to wind another loop down the spiral of technology race with constant development of measures, counter-measures, and counter-counter-measures to stay a step ahead of the opponent. Since Ukraine is aware of these efforts on the russian side, the response must be already cooking in the war laboratories.
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