Ukraine's efforts to deploy "killer robots" on the battlefield in 2025 aim to increase automation as drones take on more roles traditionally performed by pilots, including flight and target strikes, according to The Wall Street Journal.
This shift could help Ukraine counter Russia’s aggression, even if U.S. weapons supplies slow or stop under the administration of President Donald Trump.
Ukrainian manufacturers continue to focus on maintaining control over drones, improving their capabilities to enhance the likelihood of successful strikes.
Andrii Tsvirko, chief strategist at the Ukrainian company Sine.Engineering, told the publication that the company isn't aiming to replace human operators but to assist them by improving control. “We’ve been trying to create autonomous cars for years, but we still have drivers,” he said.
Globally, companies across industries — like Toyota and Amazon — have found that combining human labor with automation is often the most effective approach. Ukrainian manufacturers plan to introduce a ten-level system of drone control automation.
Maksym Makarchuk, head of the AI department at the Ukrainian defense tech platform Brave1, noted that some drones already feature autonomous targeting. "We move gradually, adjusting developments to mass production only when they prove practical for the military," he said.
Ukraine produced over 1 million small explosive drones in 2024, with many now central to Ukrainian strikes on the frontlines. Most are FPV drones, which operators control using special video goggles. These drones are small, typically no larger than 25 cm in diameter, carry up to 4 kg of explosives, and can strike targets about 12 miles away.
However, drone effectiveness remains a challenge, with deployment requiring skilled operators and facing countermeasures from Russian electronic warfare (EW) systems. Depending on the operator’s skill, as few as 1 in 10 drones may hit their target.
Sine is working on affordable solutions to alleviate pilot burdens. "You can create the best product, but if it’s too expensive, it won’t make an impact in a short time. Right now, we’re fighting,” said Andrii Chulyk, co-founder and CEO of Sine.
Russian jammers present a significant challenge, overpowering frequencies used by drone pilots to control their drones.
Additionally, Ukrainian drones must avoid interference from friendly forces aiming to counter Russian jammers. This requires skilled pilots to carefully plan flight paths.
Sine has developed a command and control module that operates across multiple frequency bands, helping drones evade enemy jammers.
Another innovation is a navigation system that enables drones to pinpoint their location without GPS, allowing them to operate effectively even in active EW conditions.
Chulyk acknowledged that no device is immune to interference but emphasized creating an affordable, resilient solution for the frontlines.
"We aim to simplify things for operators — making it as easy as playing a computer game," he said.
Drone production in Ukraine
On December 19, 2023, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Ukraine would produce a million drones for the Defense Forces in 2024.
On June 30, 2024, Ukroboronprom Director General Herman Smetanin said that Ukrainian industry had launched serial production of kamikaze drones capable of hitting targets at a distance of over 1,000 kilometers.
On August 8, the Ministry of Digital Transformation reported that over two years of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion, drone production in Ukraine had increased 100 times.
On October 14, President Zelenskyy announced that a million drones had already been delivered to the front.
It is expected that in 2025, the use of unmanned systems with artificial intelligence will increase sharply in Ukraine.