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"Such innovation constitutes the future threat," warns Serhiy Beskrestnov, who recently acquired a newly intercepted Russian drone.

This proved to be no ordinary drone as well, it was revealed. Assisted by artificial intelligence, this unmanned aerial vehicle can find and strike targets autonomously.

Beskrestnov has examined many drones in his role as Ukrainian defence forces consultant.

Unlike previous versions, it didn't send or accept communications, so could not disrupted.

Both sides' militaries are testing AI in the conflict, and for certain tasks they are already using it, to assist in target identification, gathering intelligence and clearing mines.

And for the Ukrainian army, AI is now essential.

"The armed forces receives over 50,000 footage feeds [from the front line] monthly that get analysed by artificial intelligence," says Ukraine's defense official.

"It enables us rapidly process huge volumes of information, pinpoint objectives and mark them on a digital chart."

AI-Empowered Tech as a Critical Tool

AI-empowered technology is regarded as a instrument that can enhance strategic planning, optimize resources and in the end save lives.

But regarding unmanned weapons systems, it is also revolutionizing the battlefield.

Ukrainian soldiers currently employ AI-powered software enabling drones lock on a objective and then fly autonomously for the final segment until the mission concludes.

Jamming cannot be done and destroying such a tiny airborne device is not easy.

In the future these systems will likely evolve into completely independent weapons that can find and destroy objectives on their own.

An operator will need to do is press a icon on a mobile application, notes a tech executive, head of a local tech company.

The drone will do the rest, according to him, locating the target, dropping munitions, evaluating the impact and afterwards coming back to headquarters.

"It doesn't demand piloting skills from the soldier," he adds.

Interceptor Drones and Future Developments

Defensive unmanned craft with that kind of autonomous capability might greatly strengthen air defences targeting Russian remote strike aircraft, such as the notorious Shaheds.

"A computer-guided autonomous system can be better than a human in numerous aspects," says the executive. "It is sharper. It detects the objective faster than a human can. It is quicker."

The deputy defence minister says such a technology does not exist yet, but he mentions Ukraine is close to completing its development. "They've partially integrated it in certain equipment," states the representative.

There could even be thousands of such systems in place by the end of 2026, claims Azhnyuk.

Concerns and Risks of Full Autonomy

However Ukrainian creators are cautious about completely relying on military technologies that depend solely on AI, with no operator input. The risk is that AI may fail to differentiate a Ukrainian fighter from a Russian one, since both could be using the identical attire, notes an engineer, who declined to give his surname.

The firm produces remotely controlled automatic weapons, that employ artificial intelligence to autonomously identify people and track them. Because of worries about accidental attacks, he states they avoid including an auto-fire feature.

"We can enable it, but we need to gain further expertise and more feedback from the ground forces to understand the safe conditions to use this feature."

Moral Issues and International Regulations

Additionally, there are fears that AI-driven technologies could breach the laws of armed conflict. How will they prevent injuring civilians, or tell apart soldiers who want to surrender?

According to the official, the ultimate choice in these cases must be made by a person, even if AI could make it "easier to decide". Yet it's not certain that nations or armed groups will follow international humanitarian norms.

So counteracting such technologies is increasingly important.

How do you stop a "mass of unmanned craft" when electronic warfare or employing jets, tanks or missiles proves useless?

Ukraine's very effective "Spider Web" mission, when a hundred unmanned aircraft attacked Russian air bases in June, is believed to be assisted by AI tools.

Numerous locals worry that Moscow may replicate this approach, not just on the front line but further afield as well.

Ukraine's leader warned the United Nations recently that AI was fueling "the worst arms race in human history."

He called for international regulations for the application of AI in weapons, and said the matter was "just as urgent as stopping the spread of nuclear weapons."