Germany to Provide Ukraine With 4000 AI Attack Drones, Similar to Taurus
Germany will soon begin massive supplies of artificial intelligence kamikaze drones to Ukraine, which are highly autonomous in the face of electronic warfare and can hit targets at a considerable distance.
Bild reports this with reference to its sources.
The publication also quotes Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, who actually confirmed the intentions.
The drones in question are Helsing attack drones equipped with artificial intelligence technologies that give them greater autonomy in the face of enemy electronic warfare. The industry compares these drones to Taurus missiles, which Chancellor Olaf Scholz flatly refuses to provide.
In total, the company has allegedly ordered 4,000 of these drones for Ukraine. From December, they may start arriving in batches of several hundred per month.
Some prototypes are allegedly already being tested and improved in real combat conditions in eastern Ukraine.
The drone features advanced software that helps it ‘navigate’ the terrain using many markers and fly to the target even in difficult weather conditions or ‘scorched earth’, as well as the effects of electronic warfare. Once the drone has identified the target and the operator has confirmed it, it is then able to strike autonomously, even if communication is lost.
The flight range is allegedly four times longer than that of typical Ukrainian kamikaze drones (however, the article does not specify which specific drones are used for comparison). At the same time, they are significantly cheaper than the US Switchblade and Russian Zala and Lancet.
Defence Minister Boris Pistrius noted that he was ‘very pleased that the delivery of these AI-equipped drones is already underway’ and that Ukraine would be able to use them against important enemy targets, such as command posts.
In February, it became known that a memorandum of cooperation had been signed between the Ukrainian government and Helsing.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has recently reiterated his unwillingness to provide Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles.