Ukraine to Field AI-Driven Missiles and Anti-Drone Systems From 2026
European defense manufacturer Destinus will integrate Shield AI’s combat artificial intelligence suite, Hivemind, into two of its systems already supplied to Ukraine – the Ruta long-range miniature cruise missile and the Hornet anti-drone interceptor.
The Gaze reports this, referring to Defense Express.
In a joint statement, the companies said the partnership merges Shield AI’s battlefield-tested autonomous technology with Destinus’ European production base, enabling faster deployment of AI-enabled weapons to Ukraine and strengthening Europe’s broader defense ecosystem.
Destinus, which has been delivering cruise missiles and missile-drones to Ukraine since 2024, signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Shield AI earlier this year, laying the groundwork for embedding Hivemind in both Ruta and Hornet.
The Ruta missile-drone, which successfully completed Ukrainian trials by late 2024, has an estimated range of around 300 km. Its warhead specifications remain undisclosed but are believed to be relatively light.
Hornet, designed primarily as an anti-drone air-defense weapon, is currently undergoing demonstration testing in Spain. Detailed performance characteristics have not yet been made public.
According to Defense Express, the integration of Hivemind will allow Ruta missiles to share data mid-flight, adapt to changing battlefield conditions, and coordinate attacks, forming a highly networked reconnaissance-strike complex.
For the Hornet system, Hivemind is expected to sharpen target selection, reduce false detections, and shorten reaction times when countering enemy drones.
Shield AI’s autonomy engine is already used in Ukraine’s V-BAT reconnaissance drones, originally deployed under classified missions, and serves as the core of the firm’s new X-Bat jet-powered vertical-takeoff drone.
Destinus has showcased the Ruta missile with Ukrainian markings at major defense exhibitions across Europe, including Eurosatory 2024. Spain has also signaled readiness to co-produce Ruta missiles under NATO-aligned industrial agreements after successful Ukrainian combat evaluations.
The integration of US-developed combat AI into European-built weapons marks another step in Ukraine’s push to develop interoperable, autonomous, and mass-producible strike and defense systems.
As The Gaze reported earlier, Ukrainian-American startup NeoLens has unveiled the world's first offline AI assistant for diagnosing and repairing armored vehicles that is already being used on the front lines by Ukrainian mechanics.
Read more on The Gaze: How AI Is Transforming Modern Warfare: Lessons from Ukraine’s Battlefield