Ukrainian combat units begin testing SPECTR battlefield system

Several Ukrainian combat units are already testing the system.

SPECTR is designed to take over part of the routine information-processing work currently performed by military headquarters. Its core tasks include analyzing battlefield information, identifying patterns, generating recommendations for operational planning and automating routine staff work.

“Essentially, we are building an operating system for warfighting,” A1 chief Danylo Tsvok said. “It will help the military choose effective courses of action and predict the enemy’s possible moves.”

The Defense Ministry said SPECTR would operate within digital systems already used by Ukraine’s Defense Forces, as well as on local devices designed to handle sensitive information. Battlefield data would remain within a protected environment.

The platform is intended to help military personnel process battlefield information more quickly rather than replace commanders in operational decision-making.

Ukraine expands military use of AI

The Defense Ministry established the Defense AI Center A1 in March 2026 with support from the British government. The center focuses on combat-data analysis, forecasting enemy actions, developing autonomous systems and creating new command-and-control tools.

The UK provided £500,000 to support the new AI Center of Excellence within Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, saying the project would help turn artificial intelligence into a battlefield advantage while allowing Britain to benefit from lessons learned in Ukraine.

A1 says its broader goal is to build an “AI-driven army” around three main areas: faster data-driven decisions, the integration of AI into strike systems and reducing military bureaucracy. The center is currently working on three flagship projects involving battlefield-data analysis and defense innovation, with some solutions already undergoing testing in military units.

Defense companies gain access to battlefield AI data

Ukraine has also opened its Avengers Labs platform to domestic defense companies developing AI models for unmanned systems.

Avengers Labs contains an annotated dataset of 5 million battlefield images, most collected through Ukraine’s DELTA combat system. The database includes tanks, artillery, air-defense systems, infantry and aerial targets such as Shahed attack drones and reconnaissance UAVs.

An automated target-detection system trained on the dataset is already integrated into DELTA and analyzes more than 100,000 drone video streams per month, according to the Defense Ministry. The ministry says it detects about 70% of enemy targets appearing in analyzed video in real time.

Models trained through Avengers Labs can also support semi-autonomous drone missions. In one scenario, an operator identifies a target before the drone independently adjusts its trajectory during the final phase of an attack. In another, a drone enters a designated area, detects a target autonomously and proceeds according to predefined mission logic.

Such technology can reduce reliance on uninterrupted radio control — an important capability on battlefields saturated with Russian electronic warfare.