Ukraine says the drones that hit Russian aircraft used AI to find and strike their targets when they lost signal

The attack drones that Ukraine used to hit Russian aircraft at a string of bases turned to AI to find and strike their targets when they lost signal, Ukraine's security service said.

The Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, said in a Wednesday update on its Operation Spiderweb attack that some drones, upon losing signal, "switched to performing a mission using artificial intelligence along a pre-planned route. "

"And after approaching and contacting a specifically designated target, the warhead was automatically activated," it said.

The security service said it was using "modern UAV control technology" that combines "artificial intelligence algorithms and manual operator intervention."

The SBU said that it hit 41 Russian aircraft in its attack on Sunday, which involved drones snuck into positions close to Russian airbases and then launched in swarms.

The service said of the Russian aircraft on Wednesday that "a significant part of them was irretrievably destroyed." It said "some damaged aircraft will take many years to rebuild."

Video footage and satellite imagery show that attacks took place at multiple bases and that some aircraft were damaged, but the full extent of destruction noted by Ukraine has not been independently verified.

Both Russia and Ukraine are increasingly relying on drones as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues. Drone proliferation has led to a race to develop electronic warfare to jam drones and prevent systems from working properly.

Drone makers and operators are, in turn, working to find new ways to operate their uncrewed systems, including designing unjammable fiber-optic drones, working without using GPS, and using AI-enabled drones that can function with less human input.

A Ukrainian war researcher reported earlier this year that drones equipped with AI are three to four times more likely to hit their target than ones that are only directed by humans.

Artificial intelligence is a new technology that both countries are rushing to develop and are increasingly using, but neither side is fielding AI drones on the battlefield at scale yet, according to a new report from the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for the Study of War.

The reported use of AI in this attack is notable, but it's far from the only thing the stands out.

Ukraine has been conducting long-range strikes that have hit Russian airfields hundreds of miles into Russia and destroyed aircraft. But this new attack is different in that it used drones secretly moved into the country and then launched from positions near the targeted airbases. The SBU said it brought drones into Russia and put them into containers that they loaded onto trucks and drove to spots close to the Russian bases.

The SBU said the container covers were opened remotely, allowing the drones to fly out. The service shared images of dozens of drones inside large containers, which it said were used in the attack.

Mark Cancian, a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told BI that this attack stood out from many in this war, with drones "launched close by." Russia was likely designing airfield protections for a different type of attack. This attack was different from what it had previously faced.

Ukraine's account of the attack details an operation that many warfare experts have described as pioneering and that could have big ramifications for how countries attack and protect their aircraft and bases.

James Patton Rogers, a drone expert and the executive director of the Cornell Brooks Tech Policy Institute, told BI that "this attack is a window to future war."

Richard Aboulafia, an aviation expert and the managing director of the US consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory, described the operation to BI as "mind blowing" in how it was able to be pulled off across such a large area and with so many people involved.

The SBU said the 41 aircraft that it hit included the A-50 airborne early warning and control plane, Tupolev Tu-95, Tu-22, and Tu-160 bombers, An-12 transport aircraft, and the Il-78 refueling tanker.

Those aircraft have been key to firing missiles at Ukraine and gathering intelligence. And many of them cannot be easily replaced as Russia stopped production years ago.

Justin Bronk, an air power expert at the Royal United Services Institute, told BI that even if the number of planes damaged or destroyed is less than what Ukraine has claimed, "it will have a significant impact" on Russia's ability to "keep up its regular large scale cruise missile salvos against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure" while also keeping up its nuclear deterrence and signaling patrols.

The SBU framed the attack as a direct response to Russia's missile attacks. Lt. Gen. Vasyl Maliuk, head of the SBU, said Sunday that "the adversary bombed our country almost every night from these aircraft, and today they have felt that retribution is inevitable."

He added that "the enemy thought it could bomb Ukraine and kill Ukrainians endlessly and with impunity. This is not the case. We will respond to russian terror and destroy the enemy everywhere — at sea, in the air and on land."

The SBU said the attack hit four airfields — Olenya", "Ivanovo", "Dyagilevo," and "Belaya" — across three time zones, and it took more than a year and a half of planning. The service said the estimated cost of the equipment that was affected by the operation was over $7 billion.