The Ukrainian army wants to escape Russian jamming systems with new combat drones, capable of navigating without GPS.
The technology race between Ukraine and Russia boils down a lot to launching drones and countering them. While numerous jamming systems have been put in place to disrupt the operation of these flying machines, The Economist magazine revealed at the end of May that Ukraine is developing drones capable of navigating without GPS.
As a reminder, drones, civil or military, use maps and positioning systems to navigate and strike their targets. If the connection with the operator is jammed, the device will return to its starting point automatically, or will stop suddenly in mid-flight.
The Ukrainian army is seeking to get around this technological obstacle by developing new movement software. Called “Eagle Eye”, “the eye of the eagle” in English, this system compares the data collected by planes and other reconnaissance devices with the video produced live by the drone. The operator can thus continue to move to previously listed areas by aerial means.
Drones to automatically hit tanks
Ukrainian drones should also integrate artificial intelligence to recognize targets such as tanks or rocket launchers and automatically strike them as soon as they are spotted by the camera.
Kurt Volker, former US ambassador to NATO and ex-special representative for Ukraine, told the newspaper that “ This technology could be an important factor in helping Ukraine, but it will take time to see its effectiveness. “.
A commander in the Ukrainian army, which is involved in the development of this technology, says that these technologies are already being tested on the front. Jamming stations as well as anti-aircraft defense batteries would be the main targets of these devices.
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