How Ukraine has been using AI to allow groups of drones, known as swarms, to coordinate with each other to attack Russian positions for much of the past year
In a new frontier for warfare, Ukraine is using technology to allow groups of drones to communicate and make decisions independent of their operator
Context & Ripple Effects
Ukraine’s drone adaptation has progressed from improvements to speed, range and payload during the invasion to allied plans to supply AI-enabled swarming systems. More recently, Ukraine’s security service said AI let drones continue on a pre-planned route after losing signal, establishing a prior autonomy milestone.
This report extends that arc from individual drone resilience to coordination among multiple aircraft. It matters because swarm behavior can shift autonomy from a backup navigation feature to part of the attack’s execution.
First-order effects
- Ukrainian drone groups can communicate and make some decisions without continuous operator direction while attacking Russian positions.
- Russian forces facing these attacks must contend with multiple coordinated aircraft rather than only individually piloted drones.
Second-order effects
- The reported capability raises the value of software that coordinates vehicles and sustains missions under disrupted communications, building on the earlier signal-loss navigation use case.
- Allies’ earlier work to provide AI-enabled drones capable of swarming targets becomes more operationally relevant, as support can be paired with lessons from Ukraine’s deployment.
Third-order effects
- If replicated at scale, drone procurement is likely to place greater weight on autonomy, coordination software and communications resilience—not only airframe performance and payload.
- The pattern intensifies the dual-use governance challenge: battlefield-derived autonomy capabilities may spread through state-backed procurement and allied technology sharing.
The trend: This is part of the shift from remotely piloted drones toward networked, partially autonomous systems whose battlefield value depends increasingly on software and operational data.