“There are quite a lot of videos online from Chinese gimbals — cameras installed on reconnaissance drones. In China, it is legally prohibited to manufacture any optical device without a backdoor — a hidden algorithmic flaw or intentionally embedded access in the code. Even from gimbals used on reconnaissance drones, recordings can be extracted. That’s not even mentioning Hikvision (a Chinese manufacturer of video surveillance and security systems). In other words, 80% to 90% of cameras in our country can be accessed by China. This is an extraordinary situation. We use open communication channels. The same applies to transmitting data to drones. There have been cases where Russians intercepted control of our drones,” Kardakov said.
Speaking about how to counter this, the founder of Octava Capital said: “There must be legislation requiring at least some level of communication channel protection on all drones. And this is not something prohibitively expensive.”
At the same time, he noted that this works both ways and that Ukraine could intercept control of enemy drones.
“In theory, it is possible. We have the talent capable of doing this,” Kardakov said.
“For two years, there has been a circulating idea that a reconnaissance or kamikaze drone has a built-in ‘price list’ and decides what high-value target to strike. There were even impressive marketing materials at exhibitions. In reality, this is impossible. Artificial intelligence in this context is a data center–level information processing system. Systems like SFERA must process hundreds of data inputs in real time. We took a path aligned with our capabilities. For example, the company Venator, which uses a platform for collecting and visualizing real-time airspace data, developed a kamikaze drone and the Fenek acoustic sensor, both of which have passed certification and combat testing. After that, the technology can be used by other manufacturers, including abroad. The development is adapted to be easily replicated in standard production,” the Octava Capital founder said.
Speaking about Octava Capital’s role, he emphasized: “We design all of this. For example, during World War II, Sherman tanks (the most mass-produced American tank in history) were manufactured at 10 factories. They differed slightly, but they were not different tanks. Someone had to organize that. Our task is to build a system.”
Earlier, it was reported that Ukraine has achieved an important breakthrough and can now produce drones almost without using Chinese components.